Why Important to Wisconsin
Wisconsin companies with health care technology could provide a boost.
Mexico’s health care providers need to step up efforts to go digital, industry representatives say.
Telemedicine expanded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its use has decreased since then, Jesús Hernández, president of the Mexican HealthTech Association, said in a February 2023 article in Mexico Business News. While doctors and patients communicated over the internet during the pandemic, more patients are choosing in-person appointments with physicians now, he said.
About 70% of Mexico’s population—92 million people—are covered by public health care systems, according to the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based think tank on global affairs. The two main public health systems have gone digital with their registry, data updates, and virtual consultations but financial constraints have prevented them from expanding online offerings further.
The privately operated health care providers in Mexico serve less than 25% of its population but have modernized more of their patient services, including online registration, check-in alerts, prescription pickup notification, test results, and virtual consultations.
Some of the benefits of digitization are:
- Better use of facilities such as examination and operating rooms, and more efficient scheduling of doctors and nurses
- Cost reductions from a paperless environment, with less storage space and staff needed
- Enhanced safety of medical records and data compilation to provide systemwide health statistics
Throughout Latin America, one trend that emerged from the pandemic was the increased use of technology created by startups to make hospitals and clinics more efficient. In Mexico, private health care systems were the main beneficiaries of those advances.
Telemedicine can have a big impact on narrowing the health care gap in Mexico, particularly for those in rural and underserved areas, Héctor Valle, executive president of FunSalud, the privately run Mexican Health Foundation, said in the Mexico Business News article.
“Mexico faces a significant health care access gap due to three decades of underinvestment in the sector. When patients seek care, the health care system may fail them due to issues such as inadequate infrastructure, insufficient personnel, or lack of medicines. Specialists may not be able to reach remote areas of the country, and doctors require security, quality of life, and adequate compensation to work in those regions. However, technology can help connect Mexicans with specialists, regardless of their location,” Valle said.
First, though, a clear strategy has to be adopted, Hernández said. “To increase telehealth adoption, a sound business model must be developed based on a clear understanding of its benefits. Aligning incentives and interests of all stakeholders in the health care system is crucial to promote its widespread usage,” he said.
Wisconsin companies and startups with innovative digital health care products may find opportunities in Mexico.
