University Alliances Strengthen Mexican Healthcare

Q: What differentiates TecSalud’s model from other hospitals and care providers in Mexico?
A: One of our main differentiators is that we are the only academic medical center based in Mexico. This gives us both the privilege and responsibility to transform healthcare through research, innovative teaching methods and the best clinical practice.
Q: What is TecSalud’s capacity and what strategic alliances has it created to continue growing?  
A: With more than 220 beds in our two teaching hospitals and 1,500 physicians, TecSalud attended more than 70,000 patients in 2018. TecSalud has a diverse range of partnerships with the goal of transforming the health system as a whole. An example of this is the international alliance with Houston Methodist Hospital, which has helped us to adopt international practices. In Mexico, TecSalud has partnered with Hospital ABC in Mexico City, Hospital Puerta de Hierro in Guadalajara, Hospital CIMA in Chihuahua, the National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition  Salvador Zubirán, the National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chavez and the National Institute of Oncology in Mexico City. For our graduate and medical residency programs, we have partnered with private and public hospitals creating a multicenter rotation of students and residents in the city of Monterrey. Our medical school has partnered with various prestigious institutions in North and South America, such as Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Johns Hopkins Medicine International. In addition, we are working closely with the largest insurance companies, medical suppliers and pharmaceutical companies in Mexico creating a new values-based practice for patients.
Q: What difference does it make for your partners to work with a hospital backed up by Monterrey Institute of Technology?
A: In Mexico, there are other healthcare providers that are doing extraordinary work but TecSalud’s advantage is the capability to combine our clinical staff with faculty and researchers from our medical school. With our main hospitals in the city of Monterrey and the presence of our medical school in other cities, such as Guadalajara and Mexico City, TecSalud is making an important impact on the lives of patients throughout Mexico. Being part of the Monterrey Institute of Technology is a plus for every partner because they can see the impact our university and graduates have on our country and around the world. Given that we are a not for profit organization, we can concentrate on patient care and safety without having to think of economic factors.
Q: What research areas is TecSalud prioritizing?
A: At the TecSalud Research Department, we are moving from traditional basic and clinical research into more innovative and international medical research. We have seven strategic research groups. Those groups combine academic and clinical researchers and are supported by our doctoral, master and undergraduate students, not just from our medical school and health sciences, but also by students from the School of Engineering and the EGADE Business School. These strategic research groups work on innovative therapies and visual sciences, bioengineering and regenerative medicine, cancer research, cardiovascular and metabolomic medicine, bioinformatics for clinical diagnostics, human genetics, and metabolic diseases.
Q: How can TecSalud’s research groups help reduce Mexico’s disease burden?
A: The topics on which our strategic research groups have been working on are the main chronic conditions that affect the Mexican population, such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer, among others. Our researchers work through alliances with other universities and institutions in Mexico and other divisions within Monterrey Institute of Technology researching new ways to impact risk factors of disease that include social, economic and even environmental aspects. We think that partnering with those who are working on the same lines of research and not duplicating efforts but complementing them, is the best way to develop concepts that can reduce the disease burden on the Mexican population.