Understanding, Resources Needed to Nurture Entrepreneurship

Q: What needs to be done to encourage healthcare entrepreneurship in Mexico?

A: It is necessary for entrepreneurs to understand the problems in the healthcare industry and for the industry to support them with the necessary resources. Healthcare products must undergo complex, expensive and timeconsuming regulatory processes and new companies must be able to finance themselves throughout these periods. Mexico lacks an angel investor system, which complicates the creation of startups. Individuals need to increase their investment culture to support these emerging companies, but it is also necessary for the government to invest more in the generation of new companies.

Q: What is the role of INNOVASALUD in supporting companies and generating a culture of entrepreneurship?

A: We identify viable projects led by people that fully understand the sector. We provide support by helping them understand all the minutia of the healthcare system and as the project matures we find ways to support the project financially. For instance, we supported a dermatology project by connecting its creators to individuals who have historically invested in this area. This last strategy allows us to make both an economic and a knowledge match.

Q: In which type of healthcare projects is INNOVASALUD investing?

A: INNOVASALUD has invested in 26 different projects, including 3D printing, virtual reality for pain treatment and nurse and care givers homecare services. For instance, we invested in operating 134 doctor’s offices next to pharmacies as we believe that these models increase access to healthcare. INNOVASALUD has dental clinics for D and E socioeconomic levels and bariatric clinics for overweight patients. We are also investing in the generation of AI for breast cancer diagnostics. AI allows programs to collect and use data from millions of patients all over the world and provide it to doctors. We are also investing in the development of preventive measures and personalized healthcare through genetic testing and supporting research on the generic profile of rare heart diseases.

Q: What are the main challenges that are impacting the healthcare sector?

A: One of the main problems is the lack of investment. In 2017, Mexico invested 5.8 percent of its GDP in healthcare, which is below the OECD’s 9 percent average. Another issue is the existing healthcare system, which was designed to treat the diseases the country faced over 70 years ago and that is divided in IMSS, ISSSTE, PEMEX, SEDENA and others. These systems do not communicate with each other and for that reason they cannot share services and doctors, forcing patients to travel to major cities to receive care. All this is a consequence of low investment in health.

Q: How can different systems be unified to increase access to care?

A: It would be beneficial for patients to have service portability and access to their medical profile so they can take it to the provider of their choice. To achieve this, it is necessary to create reference and payment schemes among the systems so that they can exchange information and compensate each other. It will always be less expensive for any institution to pay for the services provided by another than to build a new hospital or to force individuals to travel to different cities.

Q: How can the healthcare system change to adapt to the growing problems in the country?

A: There are two strategies to address these issues. One is to reduce the number of sick people, which requires a switch from a reactive system to a preventive one. It also requires cooperation from patients, who must be willing to take responsibility for their own care. The second is to increase services and infrastructure through the participation of the private sector in healthcare.