Preventive Health Model Focuses on Collaboration, Tech

Q: LLYC was recognized as the Best Communications Consultancy in Mexico in 2020 and 2019. How did its work with the health sector contribute to this achievement?

A: The agency is highly specialized in the health sector thanks to its team of experts who have worked in the local health system for years, acquiring in-depth knowledge and experience. This expertise allows us to offer the best solutions to our clients, whether they are pharmaceutical companies, in areas of research and data dissemination, launching a new product or vaccines, corporate positioning and also government relations, access and digital communications but in addition to pharma we have worked with medical devices and diagnostic companies and even hospitals and patient groups. Our integral communications solutions in this sector represented a growth of over 60 percent compared LLYC’s global growth in the healthcare practice in 2021. In the Latin American region, it represented over 40 percent.

Q: What type of health clients most frequently reach out to LLYC?

A: We work mainly with large multinational companies with a strong medicine portfolio targeting common Mexican ailments such as cancer, immunological and other Non-Communicable Diseases. We also work with companies with highly specialized portfolios that focus rare diseases among others. LLYC focuses on making innovation available in Mexico by helping manufacturers comply with regulations and requirements. As such, we also work with large multinational medical device companies to facilitate their approach to medical professionals. Some companies are familiar with the market or the region so our work on compliance, regulation and market approach is less time consuming.

Regulation in Mexico has been slowing down access to medications, which coupled with recent changes in public medicine acquisitions, have pharmaceutical companies concerned. Our role in this scenario is to work with regulators to ensure they consider the innovative products that are vying to enter the country. LLYC always highlights the value of innovation that is based on outcomes, not on prices.

Another goal is work communicating the value of innovative access models for public health institutions, which is why we see public-private collaboration as highly relevant. The industry has demonstrated its capacity to support authorities on care provision to enhance access and attention to quality. We aim to create effective collaborations between our clients and public institutions to introduce medicines and support healthcare system.

Q: How is Mexico integrating emerging trends into its system to generate better health outcomes?

A: To fully integrate these trends, Mexico has to overcome the challenge posed by the low public expenditure on healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic did increase the sector’s budget and put health in the spotlight of the public, private and even social agenda. The challenge now is to make this change permanent.

Mexico is facing a chronic disease emergency that requires the same level of attention and investment as the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic taught us that the sector has the capacity to adapt but it needs better health infrastructure and equipment and must adopt tech into its regular practices.

The pandemic introduced several changes, including an increase in the health sector’s budget, that led the number of hospital beds to grow seven times and the number of beds with ventilators to grow 6.5 times. Nonetheless, the system still needs to evolve from a curative system to a preventive system that cuts costs by reducing health emergencies.

The migration to a preventive model will likely be based on technology. Digitalization is another challenge that Mexico must address as soon as possible. Tech is not the future; tech is the present. It is the tool that is improving health provision and quality. Some efforts are being made to migrate and interconnect the system but they are limited.

Q: How ready is the Mexican health system to adopt digitalization?

A: Mexico needs to adopt technology based on interconnectivity but this is not happening. The country is not developing a general policy to create a healthtech ecosystem where public and private entities work together. Both sectors must actively want this collaboration for the sector to become sustainable but they are working separately.

The WHO led a global initiative so member states could integrate new technologies and digitalize their data systems. The organization identified that remote consultations and monitoring are required to improve the sector and democratize access. The key to this initiative is data collection and its importance to developing better health solutions. In this regard, Mexico still has a great deal of room to grow because the country depends on political will and cultural acceptance to overcome the challenge. 

Our job is to identify the spaces where the public and private sectors can collaborate and guide them to empower the patient on their health journey, which will lead to the transition to a preventive health system that focuses on maintaining a healthy population.

LLYC is a global communication, digital marketing and public affairs consultancy that focuses on a strategic vision, creativity and technology. Founded in 1995, it works with over 900 professionals.