Tijuana, UC San Diego to Collaborate in Surgical Center

The COVID-19 pandemic strengthened Baja California’s health industry. Tijuana, for example, experienced a 40 percent growth in demand for medical devices and supplies during the first months of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economic Development of Tijuana. The city is now collaborating with the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) Health to train doctors at a weight-loss surgery center.

Tijuana has a strong medical devices industry and capabilities for education, medical tourism and health tech. The city also enjoys a strategic geographical position as a border city, a large and qualified workforce, low turnover rates and several technical universities. These characteristics allowed the state to adopt tech and develop its industry.

Tijuana is also participating in several alliances to strengthen its local healthcare capabilities, including a recent collaboration with UC San Diego Health to train doctors in the International Institute of Metabolic Medicine (IIMM), a weight-loss surgery center. The center will also host an obesity center with highly experienced professionals and a plastic surgery center, according to Jorge D'Garay-Pallares, President, MXUS Public Relations.

Weight-loss surgery changes the shape and function of the digestive system. This surgery can help patients lose weight and control medical conditions related to obesity. These conditions include diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

The lower cost of this surgery in Mexico has led many US citizens to travel to the Latin American country for this procedure, especially those who cannot finance it through medical insurance, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The IIMM surgical center is accredited by the Joint Commission, a US-based nonprofit organization that certifies healthcare organizations and programs around the world. The center will follow the guidelines of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

The collaboration also contemplates an agreement with Universidad Autónoma de Baja California to share knowledge on health prevention to depart from Mexico’s current health system based on disease management. This agreement wants to design webinars targeting different educational areas aside from medicine and nursing, such as nutrition, gastronomy, tourism and communication to create integral approaches to prevention.