Mexico Leads Latin America in Medical Equipment and Device Importation in 2018
Recently, GHI’s data team analyzed import data for the largest medical equipment/device markets in Latin America, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
The data we analyzed covers the first 10 months of 2018 and includes the following types of medical equipment imported into these countries:
- Anesthesia machines
- Endoscopy machines
- Gamma Cameras
- Infusion Pumps
- Laparoscopy machines
- MRI machines
- Tomography machines
- Ultrasound machines
- X-Ray machines
Mexico posted massive increases in several different areas when we compared 2018 numbers to 2017 numbers. Here’s a quick rundown:
- 1,669% increase in the amount of MRI machines imported into Mexico in 2018
- 1,167% increase in the amount of endoscopy machines imported into Mexico in 2018
- 1,021% increase in the amount of X-Ray machines imported into Mexico in 2018
- 254% increase in the amount of ultrasound machines imported into Mexico in 2018
- 90% increase in the amount of anesthesia machines imported into Mexico in 2018
Of the categories we analyzed, Mexico posted import decreases in only two areas: gamma cameras and infusion pumps.
Key Increases in Brazil
Although Brazil posted decreases in imports across a number of medical equipment categories in 2018, it did show increases in a couple of key areas:
- 89% increase in the amount of ultrasound machines imported into Brazil in 2018
- 65% increase in the amount of endoscopy machines imported into Brazil in 2018
- 13% increase in the amount of MRI machines imported into Brazil in 2018
Good Growth in Chile
Though Chile is a much smaller hospital market than Brazil (with 381 hospitals versus the 7,878 in Brazil), it did post some encouraging increases in medical equipment imports in 2018:
- 1,768% increase in the amount of X-ray machines imported into Chile in 2018
- 250% increase in the amount of gamma cameras imported into Chile in 2018
- 66% increase in the amount of endoscopy machines imported into Chile in 2018
- 29% increase in the amount of laparoscopy machines imported into Chile in 2018
Weaker Results in Other LatAm Markets
Our analysis shows that Peru dropped considerably in its medical equipment imports during 2018, dropping anywhere from 39% to 100% in the different categories we focused on. Colombia also registered considerable drops in just about every medical equipment import category, except for laparoscopy machines, in which it posted an 8% increase in quantities imported.
Next Steps
While import data is helpful, it doesn’t display the whole picture of what’s happening in LatAm hospital markets. It’s also important to understand trends in equipment counts in hospitals in different Latin American markets, which you can get from our HospiScope database.
Even more strategic data is available via our SurgiScope database, which focuses on the amount of different surgical procedures performed in Chile, Mexico, Brazil and other markets.
