Digitization of medicine drives payment for use in health companies

If a few years ago it was completely unthinkable to obtain professional medical care in a way that was not strictly face-to-face, advances in digitization have brought with it a whole range of possibilities in this field. As in many other sectors, the impulse of the pandemic and the fear of patients, or the impossibility of going to health centers, have caused an explosion in remote care. Many processes will always need physical contact, but part of the consultations, either by video call or even by messaging that allows instant access to the opinion of a health care provider, can be done without appearing at the center of Health.

“The benefits of distance care are clear. Neither patients nor professionals need to travel. At times like this, with fear of going to a doctor whether public or private, it’s ideal. If the virus is in somewhere it is logical to think that in the clinic it may be due to patient traffic. For telemedicine the virus has been a spectacular lever “, says Carlos Falcato CEO and founder of Salut On Net, a pioneering initiative that works as a kind of online marketplace where one-off private healthcare services are contracted based on what is needed at the moment.

The entrepreneur emphasizes that distance care is especially beneficial for certain patient profiles. “For patients with chronic problems, video consultation has been a spectacular tool because, for example, it has allowed a cardiologist or dermatologist to send photos for diagnosis. The experience has been so good that users repeat. Even when already they can go to the doctor, they take him as a real alternative. “

Nel González, president of the Spanish Confederation of Mental Health, also recognizes the potential of this modality in the world of psychological care. “Technology needs to be leveraged, for example, in cases of suicide risk, the person assigned to the patient has the ability to be accessible to support them when they need it most, but there is no need to change the view in person, ”he warns.

And is that for the expert in distance care has gaps, the main one being the lack of resources. “It would have been very important if telemedicine had caught us with sufficient resources. The pandemic came with an absolute lack of human and economic resources. In European countries there are 18 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants and in Spain we have 4.” Another problem is that it loses quality in communication. “You, as a communications professional, know perfectly well that any of us, even if we are very handsome and photogenic, are imposed on us by a camera. Imagine you are with your doctor in front of a camera. He is imposing.”

New forms of access

In addition to the way we care, digitalisation in health has had an impact on opening up new forms of access to services. This is the case of Salut On Net. The platform works as a private insurer for health centers, with which it negotiates a reduced price for access to treatment, but for the public, it allows payment for use. “The user enters the website and selects the medical act that interests him; he can search by price and by valuation of other people. The service is bought, paid by card or in other ways and a code is generated. of use that is presented in the clinic “, details Falcato.

According to the founder, the platform works well in ecosystems with developed private healthcare. Before the pandemic, he planned to expand into Latin America; the virus forced the plans to freeze, but he is convinced that they will end up in the area: “Not many people have access to insurance because of their financial capacity, but if we negotiate rates with the clinics, we managed to a completely democratic price for almost every pocket. “

The platform is available throughout Spain, but has not had the same reception in all places due mainly to the fact that the degree of technological reception is not at the same level throughout the country. “It’s not the same Madrid, where people are used to using their smartphone for everything, that if you go to Avila or Toledo or rural areas. This is a spectacular alternative for rural areas, but there’s a problem. more cultural than connectivity. “

Falcato reveals that his company plans to arrive in Mexico. “We considered entering Mexico. It’s a very interesting country, what happens is that it requires a large investment because it’s very large. We thought about starting in a specific place. It’s like when we wanted to start in the United States, we weren’t going to do it. “It’s global, but by state. Mexico is in the spotlight and it would be natural to start in DF,” he said.