To fill this gap, Global Health Intelligence (GHI) decided to delve into its database (which covers 86% of all hospitals in Latin America and now includes Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay) to analyze which hospitals have the highest equipment counts in 4 specific categories:

• Patient care (number of beds)
• Diagnostic imaging equipment
• Cardiovascular equipment
• Maternity unit equipment

These four categories are critical pillars when evaluating patient care. The number of beds within an institution is often an indicator of the size of the hospital and may be correlated to the level of care. Diagnostic imaging equipment is essential to properly diagnose any number of life-threatening and chronic conditions. Cardiovascular equipment is just as important given the prevalence of heart disease in Latin America. A majority of births take place in hospitals and birthing is one of the main activities of most hospitals, which denotes significant importance to maternity units and infant care. While additional categories could have been included, GHI decided to focus on these 4 areas of care in order make the ranking more manageable.

Why Multiple Categories and Countries?

Rankings are often all-encompassing with no specific focus, such as the “The 50 best hospitals.” Given the complexities of healthcare systems in place and the context in which they operate, GHI opted to acknowledge these characteristics by creating a ranking per leading category. This also enables smaller yet more specialized hospitals to form part of the ranking.

GHI applied the same plurality by setting up the rankings per country in order to reflect local market dynamics accurately. For example, Brazil has over 200 million people and over 7,000 hospitals. It would be an unjust comparison to include Brazilian hospitals alongside those of Peru, for instance, a market that’s 10 times smaller.

Rankings for the Best Equipped Hospitals

The best-equipped hospitals in Argentina
The best-equipped hospitals in Brazil
The best-equipped hospitals in Chile
The best-equipped hospitals in Colombia
The best-equipped hospitals in Dominican Republic
The best-equipped hospitals in Mexico
The best-equipped hospitals in Peru
The best-equipped hospitals in Puerto Rico

Dive Deeper

This GHI ranking will give you an initial sense of which Latin American hospitals are best-equipped. But that’s just a surface view. It takes a deeper dive into the data to understand which market segments have the best potential to drive your revenues.

You can get this deep dive by subscribing to our database , which quickly lets you use data visualization tools to see which hospitals have the biggest needs and what those needs are. Parsing that is what will uncover opportunities for your sales team and allow you to grow your revenues in different markets. Check out this video to understand how the database can help drive new and existing revenue streams. Then contact GHI directly for an even deeper sense of how our database can be the perfect tool for your sales team.

The market is mainly driven by increasing prevalence of neurological disorders and growing popularity of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Other factors include favourable reimbursement plans, rising adoption of carotid stents and balloon catheters by neurosurgeons.

Globally, adoption of MIS has increased as these procedures are known for their accuracy and convenience along with reduced hospital stay. However, shortage of skilled neuro-medical experts and the rising cost of devices may pose as restraints for market growth.

Major players include Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Terumo, Medtronic, and Penumbra with Stryker leading the market.

Hospitals account for 85% of neurovascular device use and this segment is estimated to have highest growth during the forecast period followed by ambulatory surgical units and clinics. United States accounted for more than 70% of the market share. In the forecast period, APAC region is expected to grow primarily due to increasing healthcare spending.

Latin America is expected to increase by 5.5% over 2016-2024, driven by the rising prevalence of brain-related disorders and an increase in the number of geriatric patients. Neurovascular devices are used in in stenosis, brain aneurysm, and ischemic strokes. More than 4% of American population suffers from aneurysms. Ischemic stroke is estimated to observe the highest growth between 2016-2024 while brain aneurysm, having more than 70% market will depict a substantial growth rate over the forecast period.

Medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps are vulnerable to attacks which worries the healthcare industry. The FDA is working preemptive actions with other agencies in case a serious medical device hack were to occur.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), in 2015 more than 113 million personal health records were compromised. In 2016, Johnson & Johnson had to inform its customers about the vulnerability of insulin pumps causing a potentially fatal overdose of insulin if hacked.

Similarly, FDA told hospitals not to use Hospira’s Symbiq infusion pumps for the same reason. In 2013, hacker Barnaby Jack was to reveal the method he had discovered on how to take control of a pacemaker at a hacker conference in Las Vegas but died the night before.

As of now, there have been no known cases of medical device hacking causing patient harm. Hackers can access the entire hospital database by tapping into one weak point like an unsecured wireless printer misuse for ransom, altering medical records on allergies, prescription, dosage, diagnosis, etc. Incorrect information could be fatal for any patient.

The market is segmented into diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound systems, X-ray machines, CT machines, etc. and therapeutic equipment such as minimally invasive devices, infusion pumps, etc.

The refurbishment process includes initial physical check, testing of all equipment parameters, replacement of non-functioning parts & components, testing & calibration of all accessories, peripherals & modules. All the changes done in the equipment are recorded and approved by the quality control department.

Refurbishment can be conducted either by OEM or by third party agents. The products refurbished by OEM are sent to medical institutions of developed countries while products refurbished by a third party and the devices are sold to developing countries. Affordability, increasing healthcare costs, reduction in electronic and toxic waste are some of the factors driving the market. However, import taxes, absence of standardized refurbishment procedures, lack of awareness regarding refurbished equipment and stigma towards refurbished devices are restraining the market growth.

Major players in this market include GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Philips Healthcare, Toshiba and DRE Medical.

The report requested the government to consider the policies for allowing better distribution of professionals in locations deprived of specialists. Two migratory waves were observed in Uruguay; one during the dictatorship and the other during the economic crisis in 2002. However, the situation seems to have reversed with very few doctors migrating to other countries in search of better working conditions.

According to the Medical Union there is zero unemployment in the sector, yet 7% and 10% of Uruguayan doctors work abroad. The majority travel to Spain (51.7%) followed by Chile (24.4%). With the reversal of situation, doctors from other nations are moving to Uruguay for work, especially from Venezuela, Cuba and Pakistan.

Several of these products were not available for purchase in pharmacies due to their low turnover and high cost. This forced user to buy them in places which did not guarantee the product quality putting the health of the population at risk.

DIGEMID approved a list of medical devices to be available at the drugstores and laboratories where people who need them can buy at ease and reducing illegal trade. The document also stated that other medical devices such as vital signs monitors, defibrillators, electrocardiographs, anesthesia machines, X-ray equipment, tomographs, mammograms, in vitro diagnostic reagents, etc. can be purchased directly from the drugstores by healthcare professionals at Institutions that Provide Health Services (IPRESS). The DIGEMID specialists also indicated that very low-risk medical devices such as stethoscopes, electronic thermometers, dental instruments can be sold directly to the public in commercial establishments.

The aim of the plan is to reduce the incidence to 10 per 100,000 cases by 2035. This plan reaffirms the country’s commitment to the World Health Organization (WHO) and marks the World Tuberculosis Day, celebrated on 24^th March. The plan defines the indicators to be monitored by states and municipalities in the health care network.

The objective of the plan is early diagnosis, continuous treatment and reducing abandonment before the recommended period. The national plan is divided into three pillars. First is integrated and patient-centered prevention and care, second is strong public policies and support system and third is strengthening of research and innovation.

Disease control will be made based on indicators such as detection, diagnosis, TB-HIV co-infection, completion of treatment and cases of latent, sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis. To raise public awareness about tuberculosis, the MoH is running campaigns.

The campaign emphasizes that responsibility for treatment should be shared by patient, health care team, family, and friends. In addition to people with HIV, lower income population who have difficulty in accessing health services are prone to tuberculosis.

According to the MoH, 9.7% of confirmed tuberculosis cases had HIV in 2015. In 2016, 66,700 new cases and 12,800 relapse cases were registered in Brazil. The mortality coefficient for tuberculosis reduced by 15.4%, from 2.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006 to 2.2 per 100,000 in 2015. Brazil registered 4,500 deaths from tuberculosis in 2015. Incidence in Rio de Janeiro is 5 per 100,000 people and Pará is 2.6 per 100,000 people.

According to the WHO, tuberculosis was the leading cause of mortality globally in 2015 and may have killed more than 1.8 million people. Six countries accounted for 60% of all new cases in 2015 namely India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. In 2014, the Ministry of Health Rapid Test Network for Tuberculosis (RTR-TB), a diagnostic test which detects the presence of the bacillus causing the disease in two hours and identifies rifampicin resistance. For 2017, the MoH has planned to distribute 70 new equipments with the capacity to do 250,000 tests.

Reconstructive devices contributed to 45% of the sports medicine devices market.

The market can be classified into the product segments including reconstructive devices, support and recovery devices, performance monitoring devices and other accessories.

On the basis of application, the market can be classified into segments such as foot & ankle, hip, knee, shoulder, spine and others. Knee application segment contributed to 19% share of the market in 2014. Arthroscopy devices accounted for approximately 23% share of the market in 2014. This is also expected to exhibit fastest growth during the forecast period.

Major factors driving the segment is advancement in surgical technologies and increasing number of skilled surgeons across the globe.

The market was dominated by Americas, which accounted for approximately 43% share followed by Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world.

Emerging economies like China, India, Brazil, Russia, etc. are expected to grow rapidly.

Market growth is primarily attributed to increasing per capita income, health awareness and advancement in sports facilities. Some of the key market players include Arthrex, Arthrocare, Stryker Corporation, Wright Medical Technology, Inc., DJO Global, OttoBock Healthcare GmbH, Ossur Hf and Zimmer Holdings, Inc.

In 2016, 13% or 36 deals were focused on cancer while deals on cardiovascular indications were 35 or 12%. Deals on both the therapies have increased significantly from 2014 and 2015.

Cancer deals in 2014 and 2015 were 21 (10%) and 18 (8%) while cardiovascular deals were 17 (8%) and 20 (8%), respectively.

Other deals focused on central nervous system disorders, wound healing, diabetes, respiratory diseases, infections and spinal or musculoskeletal injuries.

Increase in cancer deals could be attributed to the growing biopsy market. University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston signed on with Fluxion Biosciences Inc. in April 2016 to develop a new liquid biopsy for diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Eigen and Hitachi Medical Systems Europe agreed to distribute the robotic 3-D targeted prostate biopsy device, Artemis, in Europe. Advanced Medical German Co., agreed to distribute Spectrascience’s Wavstat Optical Biopsy System in the Middle East for colorectal cancer.

North America housed 69% (199) of the principal companies conducting deals in 2016, compared with 54% (128) in 2015 and 58% (118) in 2014. In 2017 till March, of the 25 medical device deals, three each are focused on cancer and wound healing, two on central nervous system disorders and one each for diabetes, infection and spinal or musculoskeletal injury, with the rest focused on a variety of miscellaneous indications.

Declining costs of hardware and robot-enabling software will ensure market growth and encourage collaborations between healthcare providers and technology developers.

The market is primarily driven by the need to streamline operational workflows, improve quality of healthcare, and provide round-the-clock monitoring for geriatric and disabled patients.

The epicenter seems to have shifted from Japan to United States. Many start-ups are cropping up from Silicon Valley, where the future of robotics is being shaped. There is increasing penetration of cognitive computing, mobile application control, and image or speed recognition. Players such as Cyberdyne, iRobot, Aethon and Swisslog have collaborated with healthcare providers and have successfully integrated robots within hospital environments gaining first-mover advantage.

High costs of ownership and lack of reliability on these systems in critical treatment processes are restraining market growth.