Tech Taking Over Care Provision

Innovation keeps re-shaping the healthcare industry through alliances, actions, developments or approaches that shift and improve traditional care provision. However, for innovation to move forward, access to medical education and to healthcare itself must be enhanced.

Here is the week in health!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of clinical breast examinations performed in medical units of the Ministry of Health decreased by 40 percent. While the world observed the International Day against Breast Cancer, the Ministry also reported that it performed 50 percent less screening/diagnostic mammograms.

Doctor’s Fight to Specialize

The system that allows doctors to choose a postgraduate specialty reported numerous failures and delays during this year’s National Medical Residency Exam (ENARM). Through social networks, doctors indicated that the system did not allow them to select a specialty and delays forced them to wait between 15 and 36 hours. According to the Ministry of Health, the page was not working correctly. Until last year, doctors who wanted to specialize had to select the discipline of their interest when registering but now they will only be able to do so when they are informed of their results.

Mental Health Issues Affect Everyone

Medical students are among those who most demanded psychiatric care during the pandemic. According to Forbes, through the program 'We also take care of ourselves,' 322 health professionals who suffered from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder were treated. Jacqueline Cortés, President-Elect of the Mexican Psychiatric Association, told Forbes that although medical students were not the most affected, they were among those who made most request for support.

Hospital Sector Joins Educational Plans

Tecmileno and the CMH will sign a deal to promote education to improve the private Mexican hospital sector and contribute to Mexico’s national health system.

Mexico’s Health Budget Shrinks

The Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO) found that states healthcare budgets contracted by 2 percent during 2020, in comparison to 2019. In a recent study, the institute analyzed the allocation of funds by Mexican states throughout 2020, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic became the world’s number one priority. Read our full article on the subject here.

Medicine, Science Breakthrough

A team of surgeons at NYU Langone Health medical center in New York succeeded in transplanting a pig kidney to a woman declared brain-dead, Reuters reported. To achieve this, they used the kidney of a genetically modified pig. Waiting times for a kidney in the US take three to five years, so the experiment could be key in helping minimize the shortage of human organs for donation.

Technology is a Need in Healthcare

Healthtech is not just a term for hospitals and laboratories; “it effectively spans the full spectrum of well-being, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and maintenance,” writes in MBN, John Benjamin, Ambassador of the UK in Mexico. Be sure to read his complete article on “Healthtech: The Path to Global Healthcare Resilience.”