colombian hospitals market research – Global Health Intelligence – Healthcare Market Insights for Emerging Markets

Colombia: Debt to hospitals and clinics in the country reached USD7.3 trillion, the highest of the last 18 years

GHI Analysis — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 20:47:40 +0000

A report by the Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics (ACHC) revealed that the debt to hospitals and clinics for the provision of health services in the country reached USD7.3trillion, the largest amount of portfolio owed in the last 18 years.

The study notes that EPSs from the contributory scheme remain the largest debtors of hospitals with USD2.9bn, or 40% of total debt. Second is the EPS of the subsidized regime, with 32.5% of the debt, followed by the State (including territorial entities and the Fosyga) with USD742,706mn. The remaining money is owed by companies of prepaid medicine, insurers Soat, magisterio, IPS, companies and individuals.

The ACHC pointed out that in the face of this “critical” situation, the government must guarantee the payment of debts of entities in liquidation such as Saludcoop and Caprecom and those of the newly sold Cafesalud EPS, which represent 67% of non-performing loans, to avoid detriment to the country’s health sector.

Why Medical Tourism Is Surging in Colombia

GHI Analysis — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 20:19:05 +0000

Colombia is considered the prime medical tourism destination for the Caribbean and Ecuador, and the number of patients arriving from different regions including the United states and Canada besides Panama and Peru is growing every year. Colombia has now joined the ranks of Mexico, Cuba and other LatAm markets that are bringing in record numbers of medical tourists.

As per the Colombian Immigration Agency records, the number of international passengers travelling for healthcare services, has grown by 22.9% every year (6,281 tourists in 2012 to 14,339 tourists in 2016).

The cities such as Bogotá, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Bucaramanga attract the largest number of international patients who are looking for quality care in healthcare services in the fields of ophthalmology, cardiology, dentistry, neurology, and oncology etc.

A report by Procolombia states that healthcare services in the country are approximately 40% cheaper than in the United States. Besides that, the geographical position of the country is an advantage with its access to a whole continent and highly trained human resources, additionally, international organizations such as Joint Commission International have certified five hospitals for their patient care standards. As per the ranking provided by América Economía, Colombia has 22 hospitals that are listed among the best hospitals in Latin America.

Explore More

To uncover sales opportunities within the Colombian market for capital equipment, medical devices, PACS, RIS and more, contact Global Health Intelligence to learn more about our hospitals database, which tracks more than 130 data points for more than 15,000 hospitals in Latin America. You can also see which are the best-equipped hospitals in Colombia with our newly released ranking.

Colombia’s medical device and equipment market: Stagnating

GHI Analysis — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 17:39:12 +0000

The Colombia healthcare market has been stagnating from 2014 thru 2016. The market remains at a steady 1.1 million units sold across all major classes of equipment, devices and consumables.

Meanwhile, the market’s value experienced a 13% year-over-year drop, going from $1.1 billion in 2014 to $0.9 billion in 2016, revealing the extent of the economic downturn and the pressure put on importers and distributors to sacrifice margins and lower pricing.

A rising demand for miscellaneous supplies such as gas masks and gas meters were able to keep the market afloat, but no conventional modality experienced legitimate success.

Download the complete report for more information.

Colombia: J&J chooses Colombia as its Latin America hub

GHI Analysis — Mon, 22 May 2017 20:08:23 +0000

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), top 10 pharma and medical devices giant has chosen Colombia as its hub for Latin America. The company has plans to invest USD20-30 million in this country.

After evaluating multiple countries including Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica and Peru, J&J decided on Bogota, Colombia. The company plans to open a service center in the second half of 2017 and is expected to create more than 200 direct jobs including finance and human resource.

J&J believes Colombia has the required human talent due to high educational and professional levels in the local market. Bogota is an important strategic center because of its geographical location and one of the cities with high growth. Colombia’s annual growth is higher than Latin America’s average growth making it very attractive for investors. The country also has stable economic and political environment and relations with other countries.

J&J currently employs more than 1,700 local people and has a manufacturing unit in Cali. The company plans to invest in innovation and growth and seeks return on investment in five years.

Bogota health clusters in Colombia ranked first in the ranking of Merco Health

GHI Analysis — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 01:06:53 +0000

11 IPS representatives from Bogota Health Cluster, led by the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota were rated as the best in Merco Health Colombia. Various Service Institutions (IPS), Health Promotion Entities (EPS), pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers were evaluated. Among the various medical device manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson secured first rank. Baxter healthcare secured 3^rd rank. Among the various pharmaceutical manufacturers, Bayer ranked first followed by Pfizer, Roche, Baxter and GSK, which secured 3^rd, 4^th, 10^th and 12^th ranks respectively. Among the hospitals and clinics, Sante Fe de Bogota Foundation secured 2^nd rank in the region followed by Children’s Heart Foundation, Shaio clinic, Clinic Country, Marly Clinic, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Hospital San José and Clinic West, which were ranked 4^th, 7^th, 9^th, 10^th, 17^th, 21^st and 23^rd respectively in the region.

Colombia Allows Faster Renewals for Lower-risk Medical Devices

GHI Analysis — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 16:17:47 +0000

According to news published by Emergo, the medical device market regulators in Colombia have begun allowing automatic renewals for licenses of lower-risk products. Colombia’s medical device market regulator INVIMA implemented a new policy (link in Spanish), whereby registrants that submit applications for renewals to the institute will be granted such requests within three days of receipt rather than within one to two months, as is currently the case for registration renewals. The new policy pertains to Class I and IIa devices.

Colombia prohibits surgical aesthetic procedures for under-18 children

GHI Analysis — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 01:55:06 +0000

President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia has sanctioned a new bill which prohibits surgical aesthetic procedures for all under-18 children. The procedure will not be carried out even when parents have no objection. The aesthetic procedures are used to achieve greater facial and body features. In Colombia, a huge number of under-18 girls undergo aesthetic procedures. According to the President, these procedures can lead to irreversible results, which alter decisions of life and the full exercise of maternity or health conditions that may require more surgical procedures. The procedures have risks that young people cannot foresee at young age and it cannot be justified under the responsible exercise of parental authority. However, the ban does not apply to surgery nose, eyes & ears, bad reconstructive surgeries performed by doctors, mechanics & superficial chemical peels and laser hair removal. Nor does it apply to surgeries caused by physical or psychological pathologies duly accredited by the respective health professionals.

Point of care devices reforming healthcare scenario in Colombia

GHI Analysis — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 01:52:44 +0000

The people and healthcare professionals of Colombia are thankful to point of care (PoC) diagnostic devices, as these devices have altered the scenario of healthcare services provided. Several hospitals in the country are equipped with the latest technology PoC devices that benefit doctors in decision making and increase the quality of patient life. These tests can yield results in less than 15 minutes after taking the sample, and are significant for making appropriate medical decisions. Upto 70% of the information used by clinicians to make decisions comes from vitro diagnosis. These devices have minimum operating costs and 100% accuracy in results as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed seven benefits of the PoC tests, which include affordability of prices, sensitivity and specificity, easy to use with a few steps and minimal training, results in less than half an hour, highly portable and do not need large teams for the procedure.

Baxter set to invest more to introduce new healthcare solutions in Colombia

GHI Analysis — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 01:32:06 +0000

The CEO of US-based medical products company Baxter, Jose Almeida, on the occasion of completion of the company’s 60 years in Colombia announced that they would invest USD 41 million in the country and would introduce new healthcare solutions such as automated cycler peritoneal dialysis. Over the past five years, the company has invested USD 130 million in the country, which helped it to produce 26% more. The company’s production center at Cali produces 115 million units annually. 30% of the produce is exported to Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Central America, and the Caribbean making Baxter the second largest exporter of medical products in the country. Moreover, Almeida revealed that Baxter International seeks to implement innovative technologies, such as those required by military hospitals. He also emphasized that patents for these medical devices should be protected under the law, in order to maintain healthy competition in the industry.

Top hospitals in Colombia

GHI Analysis — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 02:22:59 +0000

As part of the annual hospital survey, GHI ranks the Top hospitals in Colombia according to the presence of specific modalities.

The enclosed ranking is a snapshot of key hospitals Best Equipped for Hosting Patients and hospitals with Operating Rooms for attending patients.

The complete ranking is based on the presence of capital equipment such as: Ambulatory beds, Hospitalization beds, Ultrasound machines, Incubators, Cribs, Gamma cameras, X-Rays, Computerized Tomography (CT) scanners, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalographs, Angiograms, Echocardiograms, Operating rooms, C-Arms, Ventilators, Endoscope machines, Mastography equipment, Cobalt therapy machines, Linear accelerators, Radiotherapy equipment, Stereotactic mammography equipment, Picture Archiving Communication systems (PACS), Computers, Servers, Routers, Lithotripters, Ambulances, Hemodialysis machines and Hyperbaric chambers.

Please contact one of our sales executives to have access to the full ranking.