A Year of Challenges, Lessons

After two years of uncertainty and fear, the sense of risk linked to the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased considerably. Although cases are still reported, SARS-CoV-2 cases are now less life-threatening due to vaccination. As of Dec. 13, 2022, 13 billion doses have been administered globally, according to WHO. Mexico is entering its sixth wave of contagion, however, sanitary authorities are confident that it is not something to be worried as the speed of contagion is slower compared with previous waves. Additionally, as of Nov. 29, 2022, 84 percent of the population has been vaccinated in the country. “Although a growth in infections has been observed in the past six weeks, it is significantly less than that registered in previous waves,” said Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell.   

Now that addressing the COVID-19 pandemic is not as urgent as it was before, the focus is on leveraging the opportunities that the sanitary crisis brought and addressing the issues that were made visible during this time. During the worst of the pandemic, gaps in healthcare became more evident, ultimately impacting patient outcomes. 

“The effects of COVID-19 are not only related to the biological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, but also to the resources (or lack thereof) to deal with it, which are distributed by social processes,” says PAHO. This lesson forced the industry to start focusing on eliminating all kinds of barriers to accessing healthcare, such as geographical ones. In 2022, telemedicine grabbed the spotlight as it showed to be effective in increasing accessibility to health services and optimizing time for both the patient and health professionals. “Telemedicine’s ability to address inequities in access has been demonstrated during the pandemic. The ubiquitous smartphone, capable of video interactions, can be a lifeline for underserved populations,” says HBR. 

However, there are still challenges to overcome to make telemedicine a reliable tool for the treatment of multiple specialties. “Some private hospitals will practice telemedicine using free access sources like social media, which is not necessarily the best way to do so as they lack the electronic clinical record and other valuable health data that professional telemedicine services offer. Free access sources also limit telemedicine because they are not connected to PACS or RIS systems, so while they can be useful for certain specialties within telehealth, they are not applicable to all specialties,” said Guillaume Corpart, Managing Director, Global Health Intelligence. 

Health industry players have also set their sights on making cooperation a common practice in the sector as the fast launching of the COVID-19 vaccine set a precedent on how innovation in healthcare can be accelerated through collaboration. “Coordination, clear priorities and collaboration would not only mean more efficient use of time, human and material resources but also make a difference in the quality of life of our patients,” wrote Yessika Moreno, Medical Affairs Director, Pfizer Mexico, for MBN.

Similarly, the industry tried to promote practices that the COVID-19 pandemic showed to be effective in the prevention of infections of other diseases. “We must collaborate with clear messages about the importance of vaccination, the responsible and adequate use of masks, hand washing and hygiene — everything that makes it possible to identify in the population that there is access to tools that prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19,” said Heriberto García, Director, Chile Public Health Institute, to MBN.

More Health Challenges

While COVID-19 remained in the spotlight, other health emergencies raised concerns. On May 13, 2022, the first monkeypox cases were confirmed in the UK and afterward, the disease started to spread globally. Aside from the health threat that it represents, this disease was linked to the LGBTTTIQ+ community, which generated discriminatory narratives. For this reason, health authorities began to address the issue to stop stigma and the violation of human rights in regards to the disease. “Opinions without a scientific basis and a stigmatizing and discriminatory vision limit public health interventions based on scientific evidence and affect the research regarding the monkeypox outbreak,” said Mexico’s Ministry of Health. As of Dec. 19, 2022, 83,033 laboratory-confirmed cases and 1,534 probable cases, including 66 deaths have been reported to WHO. Fortunately, the number of new infections is declining and the risk of infection ranges from moderate to low. As of Dec. 13, 2022, there has been a reduction in confirmed cases and no deaths had been reported in the two previous weeks in Mexico.  

Meanwhile, Acute Childhood Hepatitis threatened the lives of thousands of children. The number of cases has considerably decreased after the peak in the summer of 2022. However, the reason for these outbreaks remains unclear. “There have been rare cases, however, of severe adenovirus infections that have caused hepatitis in immunocompromised or transplant patients, for example. Nevertheless, recent reports do not match that description as they were previously healthy,” said Leandro Soares, Advisor for Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control, PAHO, in May 2022. 

Currently, the main focus is on the “tripledemic” caused by the arrival of the flu season, together with a rise in cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and COVID-19 infections. This scenario is overwhelming hospital emergency departments. The increase in cases of these three diseases can be attributed to the immunity gap linked to the COVID-19 lockdown. At the moment, children are at a higher risk of getting sick. “When women are pregnant, they pass antibodies to the fetus. However, if mothers were not exposed to diseases, they cannot pass antibodies and children do not develop an immune response. Currently, hospitals are witnessing an increase in hospitalized children,” said Marcos Espinal, Interim Assistant Director, PAHO. 

Where Are We Heading?

During the pandemic, the attention was on SARS-CoV-2, which caused other health issues to be neglected. Now, the health industry is shifting its attention to those issues that were not considered a priority, including primary care. “Mexico is at a critical moment regarding care provision, which was interrupted during the pandemic. The lack of preventive and follow-up services will likely continue affecting the population if institutions do not act quickly,” said Olga Marínez, Normative Coordinator at the Directorate of Economic and Social Benefits, IMSS, to MBN.

Demand for food supplements has increased and companies will continue to adapt to new needs. “The products that are now in higher demand are nutraceuticals and food supplements as preventive medicine. Previous conditions have contributed to a higher capsule demand,” said Alonzo Autrey, Managing Director, DVA Mexicana. 

Efforts toward digitization will further advanced the development of a completely digitized health ecosystem. Technological R&D will remain essential for the sector to keep progressing and leveraging the opportunity that digitalization brought. 

Above all, the previous challenging years, reminded the multiple actors in the sector of the importance of keeping the patient at the center of all healthcare activities and developments. This mindset will continue to guide the transformation of the industry for the benefit of patients. “As long as each one of us as healthcare professionals and key players keeps the patient at the center of our decisions, we will be adding value to our society,” said Oscar Ramos Lot, Director of Operations and Patient Experience, TecSalud to MBN.