Guillaume Corpart

The sale of medical devices in Latin America’s largest healthcare market is entering a new digital era. Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) has moved its Unique Device Identification (UDI) framework from regulatory planning into operational reality, creating a national database designed to bring greater precision and transparency to the medical device supply chain.

The centerpiece of this transition is Normative Instruction No. 426/2026, published in February and effective March 1, 2026. The regulation establishes the requirements for transmitting and managing UDI data within Brazil’s Sistema de Identificação Única de Dispositivos Médicos (SIUD), the country’s national UDI database. [1][2]

This change matters for manufacturers and healthcare providers alike. Brazil’s UDI framework originally required assigning UDI identifiers, placing them on devices, submitting associated information, and using UDI in adverse-event and technical-complaint reporting. [3] Now, with SIUD operational, Brazil has the digital infrastructure to turn those requirements into a functioning national traceability system.

A New Era of Device Identification

UDI is not simply another barcode requirement. It is an internationally recognized system designed to provide an unambiguous identification of medical devices throughout their lifecycle. ANVISA says the objective is to improve post-market surveillance, adverse-event reporting, field actions, and regulatory monitoring while strengthening patient safety. [3]

For devices covered by Brazil’s UDI framework, companies must transmit UDI data to SIUD before the device is made available on the Brazilian market once the applicable mandatory deadline arrives. The information transmitted must correspond to the product information approved by ANVISA, with the sanitary authorization holder remaining responsible for ensuring that equivalence. [2]

Companies can submit data individually through the SIUD interface or use structured bulk transmission and machine-to-machine communication. They can also authorize third parties to transmit information on their behalf, although the regulatory responsibility remains with the authorization holder. [2] That means UDI compliance increasingly becomes an enterprise-data issue rather than a task confined to regulatory affairs.

The Compliance Clock Is Already Running

One of the most important aspects of the new framework is that the March 2026 effective date does not mean every device must be fully transmitted immediately. According to regulatory guidance, the deadlines are 3.5 years for Class IV devices, four years for Class III, five years for Class II, and six years for Class I. [1][4]

That puts the principal mandatory dates at:

• Class IV: September 1, 2029
• Class III: March 1, 2030
• Class II: March 1, 2031
• Class I: March 1, 2032 [1]

Building a compliant UDI infrastructure requires much more than generating a new identifier. Companies need to reconcile regulatory records, product master data, packaging information, labeling processes, and quality-management systems. They also need to determine how UDI information will flow between corporate enterprise systems, manufacturing operations, distributors, and Brazilian regulatory systems. The organizations that begin that process early will have a considerable advantage over companies that wait for the final compliance window.

Where Hardware Meets Software

The biggest ripple effect of UDI may occur beyond the regulatory department. Once medical devices carry standardized identifiers, hospitals can potentially use those identifiers as the foundation for much more sophisticated inventory management. Barcode scanners, RFID technologies, and automated inventory platforms can help healthcare organizations determine what equipment and supplies they have, where those products are located, and which products may be approaching expiration. That can make a difference during a product recall.

Instead of relying on manual searches through purchasing records, warehouse inventories and clinical departments, a more digitally connected hospital can use device identifiers to locate affected products more rapidly and determine where they entered the organization’s supply chain. ANVISA specifically identifies improved post-market surveillance, field actions, and monitoring as central objectives of UDI. [3] The value therefore extends well beyond regulatory compliance: better traceability can give hospitals and manufacturers a clearer view of the medical device lifecycle. This is where hardware and software increasingly converge.

UDI-enabled labels and barcodes become the physical layer. Scanners, RFID readers, and other tracking technologies provide the data-capture layer. Enterprise resource planning systems, inventory platforms, and hospital information systems provide the management layer. For manufacturers, that creates a new technology ecosystem around the device itself.

What Manufacturers Need to Change

Medical device companies selling into Brazil will need to look closely at how their products are identified, labeled, and managed across the supply chain. Automated labeling and coding equipment may become increasingly important for organizations managing high-volume portfolios. Depending on the product and packaging configuration, manufacturers may need processes capable of reliably applying UDI identifiers while maintaining production speed and quality.

Just as important is the software behind those labels. UDI data must remain consistent with the information approved by ANVISA. [2] That creates a strong incentive for manufacturers to connect regulatory databases with product lifecycle management, enterprise resource planning, and quality-management systems rather than treating UDI as an isolated compliance database.

Companies will also need processes for correcting data and managing changes. IN 426/2026 establishes a 60-day correction period after publication for applicable errors, while certain changes requiring a new UDI-DI trigger additional requirements. UDI-DIs must also be inactivated within 30 days in specified circumstances, including when a product is withdrawn from the Brazilian market or its authorization is canceled or expires. [2] In other words, UDI is not a one-time registration exercise. It creates an ongoing data-governance responsibility.

The Hospital Opportunity

The impact will not stop with manufacturers. Brazilian hospitals will increasingly need the infrastructure to capture and use device identifiers throughout their own operations. Inventory-management systems will need to recognize UDI data. Procurement teams will need better visibility into installed equipment and consumables. Clinical and quality teams may gain a more precise way to identify devices involved in adverse events or recalls. That could accelerate investment in automated inventory systems, barcode and RFID infrastructure, asset-management platforms, and software capable of connecting device-level information with existing hospital systems.

The potential benefits are particularly important in large, complex health networks where medical equipment and supplies can move across multiple facilities, warehouses, and clinical departments. And because Brazil represents such a large and sophisticated healthcare market, the effects could extend beyond its borders. Vendors developing UDI-compatible infrastructure for Brazil may find themselves better positioned to address other Latin American markets as digital traceability and regulatory data requirements continue to expand.

Key Takeaways for Health Care Companies

Brazil’s UDI framework represents a fundamental shift in how medical devices are identified and tracked. For manufacturers, compliance will require better coordination among regulatory affairs, manufacturing, labeling, quality, IT, and supply-chain teams. For hospitals, it creates an opportunity to modernize inventory management and gain greater visibility into the devices moving through their facilities.

For MedTech technology providers, the opportunity is even broader. The convergence of UDI, automated identification, RFID, inventory software, and electronic health records could create a new layer of digital infrastructure around medical devices. Companies that can help healthcare organizations capture, organize, and act on device-level data will be well positioned as traceability becomes more deeply embedded in the market. Digital traceability is no longer a value-add; it is quickly becoming a regulatory prerequisite for doing business in LATAM’s most lucrative markets.

Planning Your Brazil Traceability Roadmap

The question for MedTech companies is no longer whether Brazil is moving toward digital device traceability. That transition is already underway. The more important question is whether companies understand where their products, equipment and installed base are located — and whether their commercial and supply-chain systems are prepared for the new regulatory environment.

Are you trying to map your existing installed base in Brazil before these compliance deadlines hit? Reach out to Global Health Intelligence. GHI’s bespoke market intelligence and equipment tracking data can help you audit your regional footprint, identify the healthcare networks and hospitals that matter most, and develop a supply-chain strategy aligned with Brazil’s evolving regulatory reality. As UDI moves from regulatory framework to everyday healthcare infrastructure, the companies with the clearest view of the market will be best positioned to turn compliance into competitive advantage.

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Sources:

1. https://www.mandala-intl.com/en/regulatory-updates/brazil-anvisa-udi-in-426-2026/
2. https://www.pureglobal.com/news/anvisa-normative-instruction-426-2026-on-udi-database
3. https://www.gov.br/anvisa/pt-br/assuntos/produtosparasaude/udi
4. https://www.gov.br/anvisa/pt-br/assuntos/produtosparasaude/udi/siud

 

Mariana Romero Roy

Mexico’s recent regulatory approval of lenacapavir could represent more than another milestone in the fight against HIV. It could also be an early indicator of how Latin America’s healthcare systems will need to adapt as long-acting injectable (LAI) therapies move from clinical innovation into routine care.

On September 24, Mexico’s Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) granted sanitary registration to lenacapavir for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV. The twice-yearly subcutaneous injection gives people at risk of HIV acquisition an alternative to daily oral PrEP. [1][2]

The timing is significant. Just nine days earlier, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced an agreement with Gilead Sciences that will enable 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries—including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina—to procure lenacapavir through PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, subject to national regulatory and programmatic requirements. [3]

In other words, the region is not simply watching the arrival of a new HIV-prevention drug. It is beginning to build the pathways needed to move a new class of long-acting therapies from regulatory approval to real-world delivery.

The Long-Acting Shift

Lenacapavir is notable because of what it changes about the patient experience. Instead of taking a PrEP pill every day, eligible patients receive an injection every six months. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir as an additional HIV-prevention option in 2025, following clinical trials that demonstrated very high efficacy. [4]

The PURPOSE 1 trial recorded no HIV infections among participants receiving lenacapavir during the primary analysis period, while PURPOSE 2 found a 96% reduction in HIV incidence compared with background incidence among its study population. [5]

That extended dosing interval addresses one of the fundamental challenges of preventive medicine: adherence. Latin America has made substantial progress in expanding access to oral PrEP, but implementation and persistence remain uneven. A 2025 review found that the region has experienced significant growth in PrEP availability while continuing to face barriers involving adherence, healthcare access, cost, and health-system capacity. [6]

Lenacapavir therefore offers an important new model: move some of the burden of medication adherence away from the patient and into the healthcare system. That shift has major implications for hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and healthcare technology providers.

The Infrastructure Behind the Injection

A daily pill can be distributed through conventional pharmacy channels and stored in large quantities. A six-month injectable therapy creates a different operational challenge. The healthcare system must identify eligible patients, confirm HIV-negative status before administration, schedule the next injection, maintain accurate records, and ensure that patients return within the appropriate dosing window. The current U.S. prescribing information, for example, specifies HIV testing before each injection and a continuation dose every 26 weeks, with a limited dosing window around the scheduled date. [7] That creates an immediate opportunity for healthcare IT.

Patient-management platforms will become increasingly important for automated appointment reminders, missed-dose alerts, inventory visibility, and longitudinal tracking. Electronic health records and population-health systems will need to connect clinical information with procurement and scheduling data. For public-health programs managing thousands of patients across geographically dispersed clinics, the ability to see who is due for an injection and where the necessary doses are located could become just as important as the medication itself.

PAHO is already building implementation capacity around long-acting PrEP. In 2026, it launched a training program covering both oral and long-acting PrEP, including lenacapavir, with modules addressing administration, monitoring, testing, and programmatic indicators. [8] The message for MedTech and healthcare IT companies is clear: the product may be pharmaceutical, but the infrastructure required to deliver it is increasingly technological.

Rethinking the Supply Chain

The transition to long-acting therapies also changes how healthcare organizations think about pharmaceutical inventory. There is an important distinction, however. Lenacapavir’s current U.S. PrEP formulation does not require refrigerated storage. The FDA-approved information specifies storage at 20°C to 25°C, with permitted excursions between 15°C and 30°C, while the vials must remain in their original carton to protect them from light. [7] That means the immediate lenacapavir rollout should not be characterized as a conventional cold-chain challenge. But it does highlight a much broader supply-chain issue.

As more high-value injectable therapies enter Latin American markets — including products that do require temperature-controlled storage — health systems will increasingly need reliable visibility into inventory conditions, transportation, and point-of-care availability. IoT-enabled temperature monitoring, connected storage systems, and automated inventory management can become important tools for protecting expensive therapies as they move through increasingly complex distribution networks.

For MedTech companies, this represents an opportunity that extends beyond the syringe. Monitoring equipment, medication-management platforms, connected refrigerators and freezers where required, inventory software, and logistics technologies can all become part of the infrastructure supporting an expanding long-acting treatment ecosystem.

Drug-delivery technology is another potential growth area. Lenacapavir is currently supplied as a dosing kit containing vials, syringes, and injection needles rather than a smart autoinjector. [7] But as pharmaceutical manufacturers develop and deploy additional long-acting therapies, more sophisticated delivery and administration technologies could increasingly become part of the care model.

From Regulatory Approval to Market Opportunity

The biggest mistake for healthcare companies would be to treat COFEPRIS approval as the finish line. It is the beginning of a new procurement cycle. Mexico’s approval does not by itself mean that lenacapavir is already broadly available throughout the country. Access will depend on additional programmatic decisions, procurement, clinical protocols, training, and implementation. PAHO has explicitly noted that introduction across participating countries will occur progressively and depend on national regulatory and health-system processes. [3]

That creates a window for companies to identify where the infrastructure is already in place and where investment will be required. Hospitals and health networks with sophisticated digital patient-management systems may be better positioned to administer a six-month therapy at scale. Others may need new software, staff training, inventory systems, or administration capacity before they can participate effectively.

The same logic applies beyond HIV. If long-acting therapies prove successful in improving adherence and simplifying care, the model could encourage broader adoption of extended-duration injectable approaches across other areas of medicine. The exact technologies and infrastructure requirements will vary by therapy, but the underlying shift is the same: healthcare systems move from managing recurring prescriptions toward managing scheduled clinical interventions.

Key Takeaways for Health Care Companies

For MedTech, pharmaceutical and healthcare IT companies, the opportunity is therefore larger than the market for HIV prevention alone. The COFEPRIS decision is an early signal that regulatory pathways, procurement systems, and public-health programs are beginning to accommodate a new generation of long-acting therapies. PAHO’s regional procurement pathway adds another layer of momentum by creating a mechanism through which 14 countries can potentially access lenacapavir, subject to their national processes. [3]

As regulatory bodies fast-track long-acting therapies, hospital procurement is shifting from bulk pharmacy storage toward more specialized injection, scheduling, monitoring, and inventory infrastructure. That means commercial teams need to understand not just which hospitals purchase pharmaceuticals, but which healthcare networks have the operational capabilities to administer them.

Planning Your LAI Roadmap

Is your commercial team prepared for the long-acting injectable transition? Global Health Intelligence can help identify where the infrastructure exists today — and where future investment is likely to create opportunities.

Using its proprietary HospiScope database, GHI can provide localized intelligence on Latin American public and private health networks, helping companies evaluate hospitals and healthcare systems based on their equipment, infrastructure, and capacity. For companies targeting the next generation of biologics and long-acting therapies, knowing where the technology can actually be deployed is becoming just as important as knowing where the demand exists.

Contact GHI today to learn how HospiScope can help you identify the Latin American health networks best positioned to support the rollout of advanced therapies — and build a more precise commercial strategy around the region’s evolving healthcare infrastructure.

 

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Sources:

1. https://outandaboutpv.com/mexico-approves-twice-yearly-lenacapavir-for-hiv-prevention/
2. https://www.gob.mx/cofepris/es/articulos/cofepris-autoriza-lenacapavir-primera-profilaxis-contra-el-vih-de-aplicacion-semestral?idiom=es
3. https://www.paho.org/en/news/15-9-2026-paho-opens-new-pathway-access-lenacapavir-hiv-prevention-latin-america-and-caribbean
4. https://www.who.int/news/item/14-07-2025-who-recommends-injectable-lenacapavir-for-hiv-prevention
5. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2407001
6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11892447/
7. https://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=1c241af1-ce62-4b0a-9eb7-f6b626174f01
8. https://www.paho.org/en/news/25-2-2026-new-paho-course-strengthens-health-workers-capacity-deliver-oral-and-long-acting
9. https://www.who.int/tools/prep-implementation-tool

Guillaume Corpart

The geopolitical realignment reshaping Latin America’s medical equipment market has had far-reaching impacts across the region. Among the most significant is the rapid expansion of advanced medical device manufacturing in Latin American nations.

For years, nearshoring was largely associated with shifting labor-intensive manufacturing closer to the U.S. market. In the medical device sector, this traditionally meant tubing, surgical instruments, disposables, molded components, and other high-volume products that could be produced efficiently in Mexico or Central America and shipped north. Now, that legacy model is evolving.

As manufacturers seek to build greater supply chain resilience, reduce exposure to Asia, and bring production closer to end customers, Latin America is moving further up the medical technology value chain. Mexico and Costa Rica, in particular, are cultivating the specialized capabilities required to manufacture increasingly sophisticated devices—including cardiovascular technologies, neuromodulation components, robotic-assisted surgical equipment, and digitally connected medical equipment.

Advanced Manufacturing in the Mexican Market

Mexico is already the largest medical device exporter in Latin America and the eighth largest globally, with most of its production destined for the United States. U.S. government data estimates Mexico’s medical device exports reached $9.49 billion in 2024, up from $7.38 billion in 2020. [1] While this scale is impressive, the more critical story is the changing nature of that production.

Baja California remains the epicenter of Mexico’s medical device manufacturing ecosystem, while Chihuahua and other northern industrial hubs continue to attract significant investment and supplier activity. Meanwhile, the Mexican government is explicitly targeting advanced manufacturing, identifying medical devices alongside semiconductors, aerospace, and automotive as primary drivers for sophisticated industrial capabilities. [2] Consequently, the country’s manufacturing base can now handle precision machining, automated assembly, sterile production, specialized electronics, robust quality systems, and complex device integration.

This evolution is readily visible at the corporate level. BD, for example, opened a $38.6 million manufacturing facility in Tijuana designed specifically to produce medication-management technologies for global markets. [3] The facility manufactures automated dispensing cabinets, exporting finished systems to markets across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. [3]

This represents a fundamentally different strategic proposition than simply operating a low-cost assembly line. The facility seamlessly integrates manufacturing, global distribution, and proximity to the U.S. market within a single regional ecosystem. [3]

Costa Rica’s Move into MedTech

If Mexico represents the scale side of the equation, Costa Rica demonstrates how far Latin American manufacturing can move into highly specialized MedTech. Costa Rica has deliberately built a robust life-sciences ecosystem around multinational medical device OEMs, contract manufacturers, specialized suppliers, and a highly skilled technical workforce. According to PROCOMER, the medical device sector accounted for 48% of Costa Rica’s total goods exports in 2025, generating $10.927 billion and expanding by 25% over the previous year. [4]

Even more importantly, the nation’s manufacturing base has continuously evolved toward higher-value, high-complexity operations. [4] Today, Costa Rica’s medical device sector focuses on sophisticated therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular and vascular products, orthopedics, endoscopy, medication delivery systems, aesthetics, neuromodulation, neuroendovascular devices, and advanced surgical instruments. [5]

Producing these complex devices requires far more than low-cost labor; it demands validated processes, ISO cleanrooms, precision equipment, engineering expertise, stringent quality systems, and a workforce adept at operating in strictly regulated environments. To support these requirements, Costa Rica has actively invested in growing its talent pool, strengthening its local supplier network, and building institutional capacity for high-complexity operations. [4]

Major global players have taken note. Boston Scientific, for example, maintains extensive manufacturing facilities in Costa Rica. [6] Similarly, Cirtec Medical recently announced plans to more than double its operations in the country, citing surge demand across the neuromodulation, interventional, electrophysiology, and structural-heart markets. The company highlighted faster time-to-market, greater vertical integration, and expanded manufacturing capacity as key drivers behind the investment. [7]

Robotics, Neuromodulation, and the IoMT Supply Chain

The next phase of this industrial transition will be especially crucial as medical devices become increasingly software-intensive, connected, and automated. Robotic-assisted surgery offers a clear prime example. Contract manufacturers operating in Costa Rica are already producing precision components and complex assemblies for robotic surgical platforms. For instance, MICRO operates ISO-certified facilities in Costa Rica, leveraging advanced machining, molding, laser processing, and cleanroom assembly capabilities to support the robotic surgery market. [8]

Neuromodulation is another rapidly growing field. These technologies blend implantable components, micro-electronics, precision manufacturing, and sophisticated software. Notably, Cirtec’s local expansion specifically targets neuromodulation alongside interventional, electrophysiology, and structural-heart technologies. [7]

This same convergence is reshaping connected medical technologies. Costa Rica’s official technology strategy highlights digital health and emerging tech as core growth opportunities, while the national manufacturing ecosystem continues to integrate advanced production capabilities with digital innovation. [9]

This transformation is vital because the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is redefining the traditional medical device supply chain. Connected monitors, smart sensors, software-driven equipment, and intelligent devices demand cross-disciplinary expertise that transcends conventional manufacturing boundaries.

The Supply Chain Becomes Regional

As advanced manufacturing expands across the region, its economic and operational impacts extend far beyond individual factory walls. A high-tech medical device facility generates substantial demand for specialized tooling, precision machining, engineering, technical maintenance, specialized plastics, electronics, sterilization, packaging, testing, software, and quality-assurance services. Over time, these ancillary businesses coalesce around major manufacturing clusters to form self-sustaining ecosystems.

Mexico’s established trade infrastructure gives it a significant advantage. In 2024, Mexico exported approximately $15.5 billion in medical instruments and appliances, with $13 billion shipped to the United States alone. [10] Baja California accounted for roughly $5.19 billion of those international sales. [10]

Costa Rica is cultivating a similarly specialized ecosystem on a targeted scale. PROCOMER reports that the country’s medical device sector generated $10.927 billion in exports in 2025, supported by an expanding base of specialized suppliers and exporters. [4][11]

For healthcare providers and market players across Latin America, this shift brings distinct benefits: shorter distances between production and end-users, more resilient regional supply chains, and faster deployment of innovative technologies.

It also redefines the competitive landscape. Manufacturers choosing production locations no longer look strictly at labor wages and facility costs; they evaluate engineering talent, supplier density, regulatory frameworks, logistics, IP protection, quality standards, proximity to key markets, and scalability.

What Comes Next?

Nearshoring 2.0 is still unfolding, and Latin America will not replace Asia as a global MedTech manufacturing hub overnight. However, the trajectory is clear: the region’s leading hubs are transitioning from peripheral assembly outposts into strategically essential production and innovation centers in their own right.

As global MedTech leaders relocate their most advanced manufacturing operations to Latin America, regional supply chains and procurement timelines are shifting rapidly. For manufacturers, distributors, investors, and healthcare leaders, the key intelligence is no longer just what medical devices are entering Latin America—it is where those devices are manufactured, which components move through regional networks, and how these shifts redefine competitive dynamics across the market.

Are you tracking where advanced MedTech manufacturing is taking place and how it impacts regional import and export flows? Contact GHI today. Our granular trade data and custom market intelligence can help you map these emerging supply chains and secure a competitive edge in Latin America.

 

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Sources:

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/mexico-healthcare-products-services
https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/mexico-advanced-manufacturing
https://news.bd.com/2022-11-30-BD-Opens-New-38-6-Million-Medication-Management-Manufacturing-Facility-in-Tijuana
https://procomer.com/mdm-west-2026-procomer-sostuvo-encuentros-con-multinacionales-para-promover-inversion-de-alto-valor-en-costa-rica/
https://procomer.com/buyfromcostarica/manufacturing/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Fly-Fichas-campana-Manufactura-2022-Medical-Devices.pdf
https://news.bostonscientific.com/expands-production-costa-rica
https://www.cirtecmed.com/news/cirtec-medical-expands-costa-rica-operations-to-support-increased-industry-demand
https://www.micro-co.com/robotic-assisted-surgery-2/
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/costa-rica-strategic-and-emerging-technologies
https://www.economia.gob.mx/datamexico/en/profile/product/instruments-and-appliances-used-in-medical-sciences
https://procomer.com/comprador-internacional-industria-especializada/

 

In the third installment of our exclusive analysis, led by Germán Chaparro of Proyekta Data Solutions, we shift our focus to the supplier side: Colombia’s medical device and equipment industry. Based on a consolidated study of 70 representative companies, the data reveals how the liquidity crisis plaguing hospitals and insurers has ultimately reached international manufacturers and distributors.

For parent companies, understanding the systemic risk of this market has become essential. A distributor’s strength can no longer be measured solely by its individual efficiency, but rather by the broader healthcare system’s ability to generate cash.

1. Stagnant Growth: The Inability to Adjust Prices

The financial deterioration of hospitals has triggered a domino effect that is stifling growth across the MedTech sector. Companies are facing severe difficulties in adjusting prices for their supplies and equipment, driven entirely by the lack of liquidity among their clients (IPSs, or private healthcare providers).

• Stagnant sales: Between 2023 and 2025, industry sales hovered in a narrow range of $2.62 billion to $2.72 billion USD.
• The inflationary impact: This represents a mere 3.8% growth over a three-year period—a concerningly low figure when considering that annual inflation ran at 9.3%, 5.2%, and 5.1%, respectively.
• The size gap: Large enterprises (21 companies) managed to grow by 4.7% in 2025, whereas micro, small, and medium-sized businesses barely scraped by with a 1.6% increase.

Top 5 Revenue in the Industry for 2025

Company	2025 Revenue (USD)
Abbott	$279.74 million
Johnson & Johnson	$248.80 million
Baxter	$187.10 million
Medtronic	$184.42 million
Messer	$141.88 million

2. Colombia vs. Other Emerging Markets

When comparing the financial performance of Colombia’s medical device and equipment industry against other emerging economies, stark profitability gaps emerge:

Financial Indicators (2025)

Financial Indicator (2025)	Colombia (Devices & Equipment)	Emerging Markets Benchmark
Growth Rate (last 5 years)	8.6%	9.2%
EBITDA Margin	14.2%	16.2%
Net Margin	4.4%	10.0%
Enterprise Value / Sales (EV Multiple)	0.5x	4.5x

3. An Industry in Transition: From Maturity to Innovation

Based on the industrial life cycle (SBC) methodology, Colombia’s MedTech sector is transitioning between relative decline (“Fade”) and maturity. The market is currently characterized by conservative financial strategies, moderate growth rates, and mounting pressure on profit margins.

In this environment, the primary threats and opportunities for medical device companies are clear:

• Critical threats: A sharp drop in technology investments by hospitals and an alarming spike in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), which now average 160 days.
• Strategic opportunities: Technological innovation—such as artificial intelligence, robotic surgery, and remote monitoring—continues to unlock new avenues for growth. Furthermore, because hospitals lack the liquidity to purchase new capital equipment, there is surging market demand for maintenance, upgrades, and long-term service contracts.

Conclusion and Strategic Recommendations for Parent Companies

In today’s ecosystem, the financial sustainability of local MedTech distributors relies less on their own operational efficiency and more on structural bottlenecks that choke payments nationwide. Applying uniform corporate policies across all global markets—while ignoring Colombia’s specific liquidity crisis—drastically increases the risk of insolvency for strategic partners and threatens to disrupt the entire supply chain.

International parent companies need to adopt a comprehensive approach to assessing systemic risk in the Colombian market. This means actively adjusting credit policies, offering flexibility on inventory levels, and setting realistic growth targets to safeguard long-term relationships with local distributors.

Methodological Note: All amounts stated in this article are in U.S. dollars (USD). Data originally in Colombian pesos were converted using a standard reference rate.

Next Steps

Contact GHI to explore these financial challenges in greater depth, presented in collaboration with Proyekta Data Solutions. Discover how you can adjust your market access strategy, structure secure financing models, and manage credit risk by effectively connecting with healthcare providers in Latin America. Our research team is ready to equip your organization with the strategic regional intelligence and supply chain analysis you need to gain invaluable insights and support smarter corporate decision-making.

 

Mariana Romero Roy

Latin America’s healthcare systems are confronting a fundamental shift in the diseases they diagnose and treat. While infectious diseases and emerging health threats remain prevalent, the burden is increasingly tilting toward chronic, noncommunicable conditions—most notably cardiovascular disease and cancer. [1]

As hospitals prepare for more complex patients and more sophisticated interventions, capital investment is shifting toward equipment that enables earlier diagnosis, guides minimally invasive procedures, and delivers highly targeted therapies. Advanced imaging systems, cardiovascular intervention tools, radiotherapy equipment, and AI-enabled diagnostic platforms are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure for the modern regional hospital.

 

The Disease Burden Is Driving the Budget

The figures behind this epidemiological shift are staggering. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reports that noncommunicable diseases accounted for 65% of all deaths in the Americas in 2021, with cardiovascular diseases causing approximately 2.16 million deaths and cancer claiming another 1.37 million lives. [2]

Cardiovascular disease remains the single largest cause of disease burden across the Americas, and rapid population aging will only increase the number of affected patients in the coming years. [3]

Cancer poses a similarly urgent challenge. Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s GLOBOCAN shows a substantial cancer burden across Latin America and the Caribbean, driven primarily by breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung malignancies. [4] For hospital executives, these demographic trends carry direct capital implications: shifting patient populations inevitably establish new equipment demands.

A rise in cardiac patients fuels demand for catheterization labs, image-guided interventional suites, and advanced cardiovascular diagnostic tools. Likewise, expanding cancer cohorts drive the necessity for advanced imaging, pathology, radiation oncology, and treatment-planning infrastructure. Increasingly, healthcare institutions must integrate these capabilities under a single roof.

The Operating Room Gets an Upgrade

One of the clearest reflections of this trend is the modernization of existing operating rooms and interventional suites. Rather than building entirely new facilities, hospitals are maximizing their existing physical footprints by retrofitting rooms with real-time imaging systems that allow specialists to perform increasingly complex procedures.

Mobile C-arms play a critical role in this environment. By offering intraoperative fluoroscopy, these mobile systems support orthopedic, vascular, cardiac, and other image-guided procedures without requiring a dedicated fixed-imaging room. This procedural flexibility is invaluable for hospitals striving to boost throughput without constructing new surgical suites for every subspecialty.

The broader surgical market is moving in the same direction. GHI’s analysis of Latin America’s surgical market reveals that adoption of minimally invasive technologies—including endoscopy, laparoscopy, and robotic-assisted surgery—is outpacing the growth of the overall installed surgical base. [5]

The same operational rationale applies to image-guided cardiovascular interventions. Next-generation catheterization laboratories integrate high-resolution imaging with advanced software and workflow tools, empowering clinicians to visualize complex anatomy, navigate interventions, and evaluate results in real time. Because cardiovascular disease represents the region’s heaviest burden, these catheterization labs are no longer viewed as specialty luxuries but as core strategic infrastructure. [3]

Cath Labs Are Becoming More Than Imaging Rooms

The modern cath lab is undergoing a major functional evolution. Cardiologists increasingly rely on advanced image guidance to perform procedures that previously required invasive open surgery, including complex coronary interventions and structural heart procedures. As a result, cath lab technology directly impacts a hospital’s broader operational goals, such as shortening patient lengths of stay and expanding procedural capacity.

This trend aligns seamlessly with the broader shift toward minimally invasive care across Latin America. GHI estimates that the region’s surgical robotics market generated approximately $246.6 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $573.2 million by 2033, representing a 9.8% CAGR. [5]

Equipping a modern cath lab requires a comprehensive technological ecosystem: imaging equipment, hemodynamic monitoring, contrast-management systems, specialized surgical tables, ultrasound units, information systems, and specialized disposables. Similarly, state-of-the-art operating rooms combine C-arms, endoscopic equipment, surgical navigation, robotics, and integrated digital software.

Oncology Requires an Entire Technology Stack

Cancer care presents an even broader equipment footprint because treatment cannot rely on a single device. The clinical care continuum begins with early detection and diagnosis, moves through imaging and staging, and culminates in surgical intervention, radiation therapy, systemic treatment, or a combination of these modalities.

CT, MRI, mammography, and other advanced imaging modalities enable clinicians to detect abnormalities early, characterize lesions, and plan targeted treatment strategies. Earlier detection significantly broadens therapeutic options; as the World Health Organization emphasizes, early cancer diagnosis improves survival rates, lowers patient morbidity, and reduces overall care costs by catching disease before advanced progression. [6]

Artificial intelligence is rapidly integrating into this diagnostic framework. The FDA’s current database includes hundreds of authorized AI-enabled medical devices, with radiology technologies making up the majority, followed closely by cardiovascular applications. [7] For Latin American hospitals, AI-assisted imaging software helps radiologists triage urgent cases, flag abnormalities, and support interpretation—a crucial advantage in health systems with specialist shortages.

LINACs Signal a Deeper Oncology Investment

While diagnostic imaging is essential, it represents only one component of comprehensive cancer care. Radiotherapy capacity is equally vital. Linear accelerators (LINACs) serve as the foundation of modern external-beam radiation therapy, enabling precise, targeted tumor irradiation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that 21 Latin American and Caribbean nations actively participated in its Rays of Hope initiative in 2024 to expand access to diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, and radiotherapy. The initiative provided direct procurement support for linear accelerators in countries including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. [8]

The IAEA has long cited deficits in radiotherapy units, trained radiation oncologists, and qualified medical physicists as major structural challenges across Latin America and the Caribbean. Consequently, procuring a LINAC is rarely a simple aging equipment swap; it typically signals the creation or expansion of an entire oncology service line—requiring treatment planning, simulation, radiation oncology staffing, and quality assurance protocols.

The Real Competition Is for Capital

The common thread across oncology and cardiovascular care is that both require capital-intensive investments that compete for finite hospital resources. An institution allocating significant capital to a new LINAC, cath lab, or high-end imaging platform may have limited funds remaining for other departments. Conversely, a hospital with aging cardiovascular infrastructure may represent an immediate procurement opportunity compared to one that recently completed an oncology expansion.

This is precisely where targeted market intelligence proves invaluable. The question is no longer whether Latin America’s disease burden is shifting—the data confirms it. The actionable question for medical device manufacturers is which specific hospitals are responding to this shift and where they are allocating their capital.

Because hospital budgets are limited, a surge in capital allocation for oncology or cardiology technology naturally reduces spending in other areas. Winning in this market requires knowing exactly which clinical departments are securing capital.

What Comes Next?

Latin America’s MedTech sector is entering a phase where clinical demand and capital deployment are increasingly interconnected. The hospitals best positioned to thrive over the next decade must manage growing volumes of complex cardiovascular and cancer patients while improving diagnostic speed, procedural precision, and treatment throughput.

Achieving this requires retrofitting existing ORs, upgrading cath labs, expanding diagnostic imaging capacity, investing in radiation therapy infrastructure, and embedding AI into diagnostic workflows. It also means the next major equipment opportunity will not always be in a newly constructed hospital. Often, it lies within an established facility adapting to a changing patient population, replacing aging assets, and redirecting capital toward the chronic conditions that consume most clinical resources.

Stop guessing where capital equipment budgets are flowing. Contact GHI today. Leveraging our proprietary HospiScope database, we can show your sales teams precisely which hospitals are expanding their oncology services and which facilities operate aging cardiovascular equipment ready for replacement. The competitive advantage belongs to MedTech leaders who identify where the next capital investment will occur before the public tender is announced.

 

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Sources:

https://www.paho.org/en/news/28-6-2024-new-paho-report-shows-ncds-continue-main-cause-death-and-disability-americas-warns
https://www.paho.org/en/news/2-7-2025-noncommunicable-disease-deaths-americas-have-risen-43-2000-paho-report-shows
https://www.paho.org/en/enlace/cardiovascular-disease-burden
https://gco.iarc.who.int/today/en
https://globalhealthintelligence.com/ghi-analysis/latin-americas-surgical-future-where-hospitals-are-investing-next/
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/guide-to-cancer-early-diagnosis
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/software-medical-device-samd/artificial-intelligence-enabled-medical-devices
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gc/gc69-inf6.pdf
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/16/11/detecting-and-treating-cervical0cancer-using-diagnostic-imaging-techniques-and-radiotherapy.pdf

Guillaume Corpart

Latin America is currently experiencing one of the most significant expansions of healthcare infrastructure in its history. From Mexico’s aggressive drive to reach a capacity of 45,000 public hospital beds via the IMSS, to Colombia’s targeted “Healthcare 2030” strategy, governments are pouring capital into modernizing regional care.

Despite the rapid construction and launch of these healthcare megaprojects, the region faces a critical operational hurdle: a severe shortage of clinicians to staff them. According to a 2025 report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), 14 out of 39 countries in the Americas currently lack sufficient doctors, nurses, and midwives to meet their populations’ health needs.

Without immediate intervention, PAHO projects that the Americas will face a deficit of between 600,000 and 2 million health workers by 2030. This looming shortfall is driven by many factors, including an aging workforce, migration, and limited training capacity. But one thing is certain: It threatens to compromise universal health access just as new infrastructure comes online.

The Realities of the Shortage

While the region as a whole averages 66.57 health workers per 10,000 population (exceeding the WHO benchmark of 44.5), this number masks severe inequalities. For example, while countries like the United States have robust coverage, others like Haiti (6.38) and Honduras (7.13) are facing critical shortages.

One good example of this inequality can be seen in nursing. In the United States, for example, there are 131.5 nurses per 10,000 people. In Haiti, however, that number is just 3.84 per 10,000 people.

Solutions for the Crisis

To address this crisis in the years ahead, PAHO has recommended several action steps for the region’s health care systems. These include strengthening human resource departments and using health information systems to monitor and plan for future resource needs. Strategic investments in training, regulations, and improved working conditions are also essential for increasing the number of health care workers to meet the needs of the region’s population in the years ahead. Policies that help retain essential talent will also be critical.

The crisis is significant enough that the World Health Organization identified it and began drafting action steps to address it in 2024. Among their recommendations are expanding education for health professionals, addressing issues related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and taking steps to retain health care workers in rural and remote areas.

The Short-Term Reality

As essential as these policy changes will be, the shortage is critical enough that the Latin American healthcare industry must prepare for the “here and now” as demands increase but workers are not available. For hospital administrators, this means managing a high-stress environment with limited human capital. In key markets across Latin America, clinicians face immense cognitive strain due to suboptimal nurse-to-physician ratios and high burnout rates. A newly built, state-of-the-art hospital is only as effective as the staff operating it — and by 2030, that staff will be stretched thinner than ever before.

The MedTech Imperative: Augmenting Human Capital

For the MedTech industry, the looming workforce crisis in Latin America fundamentally changes how medical equipment is sold and evaluated. Hospital administrators and government procurement boards are no longer just looking for clinical efficacy; they are desperate for operational efficiency.

To win public tenders and infrastructure contracts in this environment, MedTech vendors must prove that their solutions can augment human capital and reduce the cognitive load on existing staff. This requires a strategic pivot toward:

• Workflow Automation: Equipment must seamlessly integrate into electronic health records (EHR) to eliminate manual data entry, allowing nurses to spend more time on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
• Intuitive Interfaces: With high staff turnover and limited specialized personnel, medical devices must have intuitive, standardized interfaces that require minimal training to operate safely.
• Predictive Analytics: AI-driven patient monitoring systems that can alert a small clinical team to a deteriorating patient before an acute event occurs will be highly sought after.

As Latin America builds the hospitals of tomorrow, the MedTech companies that will dominate the market in 2030 will be those that solve the workforce equation. The winning strategy is no longer just selling better diagnostic or surgical tools — it is providing the technology that empowers a limited clinical staff to do more with less.

Next Steps

Contact GHI to learn more about the looming healthcare workforce shortage in Latin America and how you can optimize your company’s strategy for success. Our team of researchers can provide the analysis you need to gain valuable insights to support strategic decision-making in your industry.

 

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Sources:

https://www.paho.org/en/news/30-4-2025-new-paho-report-reveals-14-countries-americas-face-health-worker-shortages
https://iris.paho.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0294f08d-e494-477d-bb02-859eb17745af/content
https://oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/mexico/imss-sumara-45-mil-camas-hospitalarias-en-el-pais-para-2030-27799500
https://www.fimasd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/11.-COLOMBIA-2030-Salud.pdf
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241511131
https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB156/B156_15-en.pdf

Mariana Romero Roy

A historic wave of hospital modernization is sweeping across Latin America. However, modernization is just one piece of the puzzle in the region. Increasingly, this modernization must also go hand in hand with a new mandate: global sustainability. As governments secure funding from multilateral lenders to construct the hospitals of 2030, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are moving from “nice-to-have” add-ons to mandatory requirements in public procurement scoring.

For MedTech suppliers, the rules of engagement are changing. A state-of-the-art clinical product is no longer enough to secure a regional contract. In the public tender of the near future, the greenest devices may win out over the cheapest ones.

The Funding Mandate

The push toward Sustainable Public Procurement (or Compras Públicas Sostenibles – CPS) is not just a trend: It is a financial requirement. The infrastructure boom is heavily financed by institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Through its Impact Management Framework, IDB Invest ties infrastructure and healthcare financing directly to rigorous ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria, including standards related to environmental safeguards and greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The Platform Reality

The stricter environmental requirements of these investors are already having a trickle-down effect in countries throughout Latin America. Countries such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic, for example, are actively updating their national procurement manuals to mandate Sustainable Public Procurement (CPS – Compras Públicas Sostenibles).

Before a dollar is disbursed for a new hospital in Colombia or a modernized clinic in the Dominican Republic, the project must align with climate resilience and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Consequently, national governments are cascading these environmental requirements down to their supply chains — meaning the medical equipment filling those hospitals must also meet strict sustainability metrics.

The Chilean Guidelines

Another prime example is in Chile. Through its “Mercado Público” platform and the “Estado Verde” (Green State) initiative, government buyers are explicitly instructed to look beyond the initial purchase price. Chilean procurement guidelines state that public entities must evaluate the “maximum value for money across the entire life cycle,” which allows them to assign higher evaluation scores to suppliers whose products demonstrate a lower ecological footprint.

Brazil’s Approach

Brazil also has a public procurement law, enacted in 2021 and now fully enforced, that has a similar impact. Put simply, the Brazilian law allows procurement officials to reject the lowest bid in favor of devices with superior life cycle environmental performance. This simple change has revolutionized the procurement process in Brazil and made environmental sustainability a more important factor in many cases than price alone.

Changes Across the Region

These countries are far from the only ones in Latin America that are moving toward “green procurement.” In fact, the Inter-American Network on Government Purchasing (RICG) has been highly active in standardizing sustainable procurement across the region. This network provides reports on how different Latin American countries are advancing Sustainable Public Procurement policies. Their manual on Implementing Sustainable Public Procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean details exactly how environmental criteria are being integrated into technical specifications and contract adjudications across the region.

The MedTech Angle: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Hospital administrators and public procurement boards are under intense pressure to reduce the massive carbon and waste footprint of the healthcare sector. When governments evaluate a multi-million-dollar tender to outfit a new hospital wing, they are increasingly penalizing equipment that consumes excessive energy, utilizes non-recyclable materials, or lacks safe end-of-life disposal programs.

To win in this environment, MedTech commercial teams must learn to translate their global corporate ESG reports into localized, competitive advantages. This requires a strategic pivot in how products are pitched to regional health ministries:

• Life-Cycle Efficiency: Highlight lower energy consumption and water usage during device operation.
• Circular Economy Integration: Emphasize modular repairability to reduce electronic waste and promote active “take-back” programs for end-of-life disposal.
• Sustainable Packaging: Demonstrate a reduction in single-use plastics and non-recyclable packaging materials in bulk shipments.

As Latin America builds its sustainable healthcare future, suppliers who can offer proven “Green Solutions” will not only secure higher evaluation scores — they will lock in long-term contracts for the region’s largest infrastructure projects.

Next Steps

Contact GHI to learn more about green procurement and how you can optimize your company’s strategy for success. Our team of researchers can provide the analysis you need to gain valuable insights to support strategic decision-making in your industry.

 

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Sources:

https://idbinvest.org/en/impact-management-framework
https://www.chilecompra.cl/2023/03/compras-publicas-sustentables-para-avanzar-hacia-un-estado-verde/
https://www.meddeviceonline.com/doc/new-sustainability-mandates-in-brazil-and-chile-are-quietly-disqualifying-medical-devices-0001
https://noharm.org/procurement
https://ricg.org/en/

In the second installment of our exclusive financial analysis, led by Germán Chaparro of Proyekta Data Solutions, we dive deep into the critical liquidity crisis facing Health Service Providing Institutions (IPS, by its Spanish acronym). After analyzing a sample of 53 private IPSs, the data reveals a harsh reality for medical device manufacturers and technology providers: the rapid deterioration of hospital cash flows is drastically halting the sector’s modernization.

Today, IPSs are operating at their absolute limit, becoming involuntary financiers of a system that is stifling their capacity to invest.

1. The Illusion of a Surplus: A Strangled Cash Flow

Although income statements might show a degree of profitability, the actual cash on hand tells a very different story.

• Limited Cash: The analyzed sample showed that at the close of 2025, the sector generated a mere $53.98 million USD in Free Cash Flow. This is the money left over after paying taxes, replenishing working capital, and covering essential investments.
• The Burden of Debt: This figure reflects the outstanding obligations from financial commitments secured through debt, leasing, and similar arrangements. Once these obligations and their corresponding interest are deducted, the economic surplus drops drastically. This leaves almost no margin for dividend distribution or capital reinvestment to justify a sustainable long-term growth rate.

2. Trapped in Receivables: Involuntary Financiers

The hospital sector isn’t losing cash to irresponsible spending or inventory hoarding; rather, its cash is getting trapped in accounts receivable.

• During 2025, operating working capital requirements surged by 34.6% (equivalent to an additional $407.89 million USD). This growth vastly outpaced the healthcare system’s operating revenue, which grew by only 9.4%.
• For every additional dollar generated by an IPS, a large portion does not convert to cash, but instead ends up financing the outstanding balances owed by EPS (Health Promotion Entities, by its Spanish acronym) insurers.

Working Capital Items	End of 2024 (USD)	End of 2025 (USD)	Change
Accounts Receivable (Clients/System)	$1,764.19 million	$2,188.64 million	↑ 24%
Inventories	$129.26 million	$143.29 million	↑ 10%
Accounts Payable (Suppliers)	$718.31 million	$749.65 million	↑ 4%

3. The Technological Sacrifice (A Warning for Manufacturers)

For manufacturers of medical devices and equipment, this next finding is the ultimate red flag: the severe lack of liquidity has destroyed clinics’ capacity to invest.

• While private IPSs have $2,184.21 million USD immobilized in accounts receivable, the funds allocated to infrastructure and technology (CAPEX) represent just 3.97% of their sales.
• The ratio of Property, Plant, and Equipment to sales dropped dramatically from 67.17% in 2020 to 46.86% in 2025.

What does this mean? Hospital technology investment decisions are no longer driven by strategic goals or clinical growth, but strictly by cash availability. IPSs aren’t investing in what they need; they are investing in whatever they can afford to finance. This points to severe, impending delays in the modernization of medical equipment.

4. Credit Risk Unmasked

The 2025 figures reveal stress indicators that should never be ignored in any B2B negotiation within the sector:

IPS Credit Risk Indicators	2025 Result	What Does This Mean?
Probability of Default	10%	Solvency exists, but liquidity is lacking
Average DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) + Estimated Grace Period	140 + 30 days	Critical delays in collecting receivables
Total Debt Level	45%	Debt is in the “watch zone”
Growth Leverage	0.40	Growing requires more cash than is generated

The Challenge of Official Debt Reconciliation

To mitigate this crisis, the National Government has convened EPSs, IPSs, administrators, and pharmaceutical companies to reconcile the system’s debts. However, the state has declared it will legally assume only the funds associated with the UPC (Capitation Payment Unit), leaving all other obligations as the responsibility of private actors. This makes having verifiable financial information more urgent than ever before.

Methodological Note: All amounts stated in this article were converted from Colombian pesos (COP) to U.S. dollars (USD) at an exchange rate of 1 USD = 3,800 COP.

Next Steps

Contact GHI to dive deeper into these financial challenges, presented in collaboration with Proyekta Data Solutions. Discover how you can adjust your market access strategy, structure secure financing models, and manage credit risk to effectively connect with healthcare providers in Latin America. Our research team is ready to equip your organization with the strategic regional intelligence and supply chain analysis you need to gain invaluable insights and support confident corporate decision-making.

 

According to an exhaustive analysis by GHI, led by Germán Chaparro of Proyekta Data Solutions, Colombia’s healthcare industry is facing a critical paradox. While it remains one of the most vital sectors for both the national economy and social well-being, it has devolved into a highly stressed financial environment that fails to generate economic value for its investors.

For medical device manufacturers, technology providers, hospitals, and other ecosystem stakeholders, understanding the data driving this crisis is no longer just a basic market analysis; it has become an absolute necessity for corporate survival.

Currently, the healthcare system’s value chain is suffering from structural liquidity issues, regulatory dependence, and a troubling rise in credit risk. This crisis cannot be blamed on a single participant, but is best understood from two interconnected angles: the financial collapse of the insurers (EPS, or Health Promotion Entities) and the illusion of profitability among healthcare providers (IPS, or Health Service Providing Institutions).

1. The EPS Angle: The Resource Bottleneck

The root of the crisis begins with health insurance. The financial results for Health Promotion Entities (EPS) at the close of 2025 reveal an alarming destruction of equity value, effectively choking off the flow of resources to the rest of the supply chain.

• Massive losses: Major insurers like Sanitas and Famisanar, which collectively serve millions of members, reported staggering losses of -$436.84 million USD and -$180.11 million USD, respectively.
• Suffocating margins: Entities like Sura, despite posting minor accounting profits, are operating with a negative cash margin of -1.55%.

Financial Results of the EPSs

EPS	Number of Members (04/26)	Profit/Loss as of 12/31/25 (USD)	Cash Margin as of 12/31/25
Sanitas	6,054,232	-$436.84 million	N/A
Sura	5,555,519	$17.16 million	-1.55%
Salud Total	5,389,857	$51.27 million	1.40%
Famisanar	2,591,849	-$180.11 million	0.70%

This inability of the EPSs to sustain their operations leads directly to a systematic pile-up of unpaid bills owed to hospitals, clinics, and, ultimately, medical supply manufacturers.

2. The IPS Angle: When Growth Destroys Cash

For private hospitals and clinics (IPS), the underlying issue isn’t a lack of patients or billing, but rather the sheer inability to turn those rendered services into actual cash.

• The illusion of profit: At first glance, private IPSs show a healthy positive return on equity (ROE) of 10.80%. However, this figure does not translate into real money; their cash flow return on investment (CFROI) plummets to -0.36%.
• Value destruction: When comparing this to the 16.46% cost of capital demanded by the market, it becomes painfully clear that the sector’s cash flows are simply not enough to offset its financial risks.
• The growth trap: The “growth leverage” for private IPSs sits at a mere 0.40. A ratio below 1.0 means that to expand and treat more patients, clinics must inject significantly more working capital than their operations actually generate. Simply put: all profitability is completely swallowed up by accounts receivable.

Growth Leverage (Profitability vs. Liquidity)

EBITDA Margin for Private IPSs in 2025	Working Capital Productivity 2025 (PKT)	Growth Leverage
10.47%	26.50%	0.40

3. The Debt Labyrinth and Service Closures

One of the most severe systemic risks to the supply chain is the lack of transparency regarding exactly how much money is tied up in unpaid debts. Reconciliation is a major problem: the Comptroller’s Office reports EPS debts at $8,657.89 million USD, while the ACHC estimates outstanding debts at $6,289.47 million USD, and Supersalud offers various fragmented figures.

Inconsistencies in Figures

Official Source	Reported Item	Estimated Amount (USD)
Comptroller’s Office	EPS Debts to Healthcare Providers and Suppliers	$8,657.89 million
Supersalud	Accounts receivable from IPS under the contributory system	$8,342.11 million
Así Vamos en Salud	EPS debt to providers	$7,263.16 million
ACHC	Outstanding accounts with hospitals and clinics	$6,289.47 million
Supersalud	Accounts payable to EPS under the contributory system	$5,210.53 million

This financial suffocation is already causing real-world damage to infrastructure and patient care:

• According to the original report, 4,104 IPSs closed their doors between 2021 and 2026, representing a steady decline in the country’s installed healthcare capacity.
• The current crisis in major cities: Recent reports from the La República newspaper highlight that this impact has reached the largest institutions. Fifteen major clinics in Bogotá and Medellín—which together account for nearly 29% of all enrolled patients—have fully or partially suspended services due to unpaid EPS bills.
• Top-tier facilities, including the National Cancer Institute, Clínica de Occidente, Hospital San Rafael, and Clínica Infantil Colsubsidio (which recently shut down its emergency services), have been forced to restrict operations just to stop the drain on their cash reserves.

Conclusion and Strategic Recommendations

Today, the Colombian healthcare sector is a strategically vital but financially exhausted industry, where survival hinges on adapting to an environment of severely restricted resources. For manufacturers of medical equipment, technology, and supplies, the biggest risk right now isn’t making a sale, but rather the immense uncertainty regarding the collectability of those receivables.

Given the obvious illiquidity of debtors, performing rigorous credit risk analysis is no longer just a “best practice”—it is an unavoidable necessity. Financial departments within the sector are strongly advised to implement robust mathematical models before signing any installment agreements. These should include Free Cash Flow analysis, the Z-Score, the Sloan Ratio, and the statistical calculation of the Probability of Default. Protecting your own company’s liquidity is the very first step in safeguarding the stability of the entire system.

Methodological Note: All monetary amounts expressed in this article have been converted from Colombian Pesos (COP) to US Dollars (USD) using an exchange rate of 1 USD = 3,800 COP.

Next Steps

Reach out to GHI to dive deeper into this analysis—conducted alongside Proyekta Solutions—and explore the rapidly shifting landscape of healthcare in Colombia and Latin America. Learn how to adjust your market access strategy to successfully connect with the region’s top healthcare providers. Our research team is ready to equip your organization with the strategic regional intelligence and supply chain insights needed to gain invaluable insights and support smarter decision-making.

 

Mariana Romero Roy

Healthcare systems are facing increasing pressure to improve access, reduce waiting times, optimize resources, and maintain high-quality outcomes. In response to these complex challenges, Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) — also referred to as outpatient or ambulatory surgery clinics — are evolving from supplemental care settings into key facilities for future healthcare delivery.

With its established ambulatory surgery ecosystem and early access to modern technologies, North America is at the forefront of the growth of ASCs. However, Latin America is emerging as a critical frontier in the industry.

Led by early-adopting countries like Brazil and Mexico, the Latin American region is at an early but accelerating stage of ASC adoption and outpatient infrastructure expansion. This shift is being supported by medical tourism and private equity investment in premium outpatient surgical centers. For MedTech executives, pharmaceutical leaders, and medical equipment manufacturers, this decentralization of care represents a commercial opportunity that requires a tailored strategic approach.

Economics & Mechanics of the ASC Boom

One only has to look at the numbers to understand the opportunities that ASCs present:

Ambulatory Surgery Market by the Numbers

• Global market value in 2026: $54.87b
• Projected global market value by 2033: $91.46b
• Projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR): 6%
• Projected growth of the ASC market from 2024-2029: 30%

This aggressive market expansion across regions is primarily driven by powerful structural and economic incentives:

• Cost-driven migration. The economic desire to reduce the per-episode cost of surgical care is a powerful driver of the ASC market. Ambulatory surgical centers offer high-quality care at lower costs compared to traditional hospitals, attracting both patients and insurers. By operating with significantly leaner overhead and avoiding the high fixed costs of 24-hour inpatient infrastructure, these specialized facilities can deliver advanced surgical interventions at a lower price without compromising clinical outcomes
• Operational efficiency. ASCs provide more efficient check-in/check-out procedures and faster appointment scheduling. In addition to improving patient satisfaction, this efficiency enables facilities to handle increased patient volumes without sacrificing the standard of care.
• Infection control. Growing concerns over hospital-acquired infections are driving patients toward outpatient facilities. ASCs offer a more controlled, lower-traffic environment and eliminate overnight stays, which significantly reduces the risk of post-operative infections for routine procedures.
• Demographic shifts. The World Health Organization reported that noncommunicable diseases account for roughly 74% of global deaths, which continues to increase demand for elective and chronic disease-related interventions requiring procedural care. Furthermore, rising elderly population levels are supporting procedure volumes, as older adults require cataract surgery, joint replacement, cardiovascular interventions, and pain management services more frequently than younger populations.

Specialties & Technologies Driving the Outpatient Shift

To effectively capitalize on the ASC boom in Latin America, commercial teams must understand which clinical specialties and technological advancements are enabling this transition. The increasing adoption of minimally invasive surgical techniques is accelerating the growth of the ambulatory surgery market by enabling faster recovery, lower postoperative complications, and shorter hospital stays. This allows more procedures to be performed on a same-day basis.

The market is largely driven by specialized interventions such as the following:

• Ophthalmology. Ambulatory surgery accounts for 90% or more of all cataract surgeries in around three-quarters of OECD countries in 2023. This highlights the increased adoption of same-day surgical care models.
• Surgical robotics. While the overall Robotic-Assisted Surgery (RAS) market remains relatively small in Latin America compared to more mature global regions, local adoption is beginning to surge. Looking at the global landscape, the ASC surgical robotics market is expanding rapidly, valued at $180 million in 2025 and projected to reach $650 million by 2034 with a CAGR of 24%. Within this robotic sub-segment, orthopedic procedures outside of the hospital operating room  (27% CAGR) and endoscopic surgery platforms (30% CAGR) represent high-growth applications. Abdominal surgery remains the most mature segment for ASC robotics, holding a 48% market share.
• Endoscopy & diagnostics. Endoscopy is increasingly being integrated into ASC services as an important part of minimally invasive diagnostics and treatments.

Strategic Imperatives for MedTech Growth

Ambulatory surgeries represent one of the most attractive growth opportunities in the MedTech sector. As healthcare continues to shift toward outpatient settings, companies that tailor their product development and commercial strategies to the specific needs of ASCs will lead the market.

However, adapting a mega-hospital sales pitch is not enough to succeed in the specialized outpatient environment. ASCs operate under different constraints, including tighter budgets, strict infection control regulations, and occasional shortages of highly specialized staff. In a fast-paced, high-turnover environment, labor-intensive workflows — such as the complex cleaning and reprocessing of certain surgical devices — can cause bottlenecks or create safety risks if the staff feels rushed.

To win procurement contracts in this space, MedTech companies must provide solutions that solve these operational difficulties. Administrators are no longer just buying medical equipment; they are buying measurable outcomes. Successful manufacturers will move beyond traditional capital sales and offer portfolios that guarantee:

• Higher patient throughput. Faster procedure times and quicker patient discharges.
• Simplified operations. Intuitive devices that reduce complexity and enhance patient safety.
• Maximized productivity. Tools that help smaller clinical teams do more without sacrificing the continuity of care.

Better economics. A radically lower total cost of ownership compared to traditional hospital equipment.

 

Next Steps

Contact GHI to learn more about the rapid expansion of ASCs and outpatient clinics across the region. Our team can provide the facility-level intelligence and procedural data you need to adjust your sales targets, optimize your portfolio, and capture this dynamic new market.

 

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Sources:

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/industry-reports/day-case-surgery-market
https://marketintelo.com/report/ai-enabled-surgical-robotics-for-ambulatory-surgery-centers-market/amp
https://www.frost.com/news/press-releases/ambulatory-surgical-centres-poised-for-sustained-growth-as-healthcare-delivery-continues-to-shift-beyond-the-hospital/
https://www.precedenceresearch.com/endoscopy-and-ambulatory-surgical-center-market