During the presentation, it was stated that resources would allocated as: 35,361 (64%) to medicines and vaccines; 15,039 (27%) to patent medicines; and 4,926 (9%) to healing material, which will benefit 80% of the country’s population and the largest volume of the purchase will be for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The Secretary of the Civil Service and the ISSSTE added that this year will be tendered a thousand 609 keys, of which 768 are medicines, 692 cure materials and 149 patents, and will select those that guarantee greater competition, better prices and curative efficiency.

This year’s consolidated purchase – the fifth since starting this scheme in 2013 – has a growth of 13% compared to 2016 and a 20% increase in the number of participants and guaranteed transparency through the intervention, throughout the process, of representatives of national and international social organizations, as well as external actors of the public sector.

During the presentation of the scheme of this tender, the IMSS detailed that the number of pieces required will be 2.184 million units, 6.6% higher than last year, making it the largest purchase of health supplies in the history of the country.

At the time, the Public Service Secretariat, stated that through this consolidated purchase scheme, IMSS has been able to improve the quality of services in health, based on the quality of life and well-being of the citizenship. Finally, it was stated that all public servants involved in the operation of the bidding will sign a declaration of no conflict of interest, to guarantee their impartiality and confidentiality and, as in previous tenders, this stage of the process was transmitted live by social networks to ensure maximum publicity and transparency.

Aristeguinoticia

Photo: Aristeguinoticia

Mexican Council of Ophthalmology stated that a person with diabetes takes 5-15 years to develop this complication, as per the care and clinical control they maintain. However, in half the cases there is delay in diagnosis by the general practitioner.

Diabetic retinopathy is the third leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. It is characterized by a gradual loss of vision due to the deterioration caused in the blood vessels of the retina by the elevated levels of glucose. This disease “is not very well known” by the first level doctors responsible for providing care and follow-up to diabetic patients, especially those who attend public institutions.

Reviews every six months prevents complications such as the formation of macular edema, which causes irreversible blindness. Although retinopathy is not curable, its progression can be reversed by an injection of antiangiogenic drugs, which regulate the formation of blood vessels within the eye.

According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) for Latin America, Mexico has a high prevalence of diabetes but lacks awareness and sufficient services. The International Diabetes Federation and the International Federation on Old Age, surveyed patients with diabetes and retinopathy in Mexico and found that almost 20% never talked to their doctor about eye complications and 28% did so once symptoms appeared.

In addition, 43% of diabetic patients surveyed did not believe that their disease is well controlled and are four times more concerned about vision loss than about cardiovascular diseases that diabetes can bring. The results of the study reveal a lag in ophthalmological care for patients with diabetes, for not only those who live in cities but those in the most remote rural areas.

Noticiassin

Mexico, Brazil and Argentina currently account for 67% of mobiles apps focused on providing health care options. And to improve the application of information technologies in health, access could be given to 15.5 million additional patients per year in Mexico.

The saturation of the public health system in Mexico has forced the private sector to innovate the techniques of care for patients who have a high possibility of being incapacitated.

The company Group Sohin launched the Concierge app, currently used by more than 4,000 patients, which functions as a digital complement that provides personalized attention to patients with complex chronic-degenerative diseases.

With this application, the company assigns a person who supports the patient to complete the administrative procedures and accompanies him in their treatments, in addition allows him to share his mood to receive emotional support in his recovery.

20minutos

The theft in medicines has led to the loss of approximately USD2.7 million and, also contributes to the rise of illegal trade of these products in the open market (street vendors and internet). About 4% of the medicines sold in Mexico are irregular (1.5% are for sale on the Internet and 2.5% in markets on wheels or illegal establishments), all of which represents approximately USD440 million a year.

The Unefarm, the authorities of the Federal Commission for the Protection of Health Risks (Cofepris) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) work in coordination to report the theft of lots of merchandise and detection of irregular market or web pages without the corresponding certificate. The Unefarm stated that from 2013 to date the federal authorities have suspended about 17,000 illegal advertising advertisements linked to health, of which 67% are on the internet.

The organization mentioned the existence of an international agreement between health agencies of Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay and Central America, in coordination with Spain, to combat this type of sites and, other agreements with portals such as Free Market and Second Hand for monitoring, in collaboration with the Cyber ​​Police.

In the last year alone there were at least 50 robberies and assaults to pharmacies in the eastern area of ​​the state of Mexico and Mexico City, reason why the entrepreneurs have had to resort to the purchase of Insurance policies, alarms and closed circuits of surveillance, but has been insufficient.

Aristeguinoticias

An example of this is the antiretroviral Kaletra, for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which Abbot sells in Mexico at a price of USD2.96 per pill, which amounts to more than USD2,100 annually.

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 700,000 people die in Latin America every year due to lack of access to medicines. Families in the region spend an average of 30% of their income on health issues. The AHF emphasized on promoting early detection of the disease to curb HIV epidemic.

Currently, only 60% of HIV positive people in Mexico are aware of the available treatments. Government can provide treatment only if the authorities can buy generic medicines at more affordable prices. The organization urged the Mexican government to take advantage of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Additionally, pharmaceuticals prefer to extend their patents on medicines to generate profits at the expense human life. It was suggested by the AHF that patient organizations be included in meetings where governments and pharmaceutical companies discuss reductions in drug prices.

Noreste

286 electronic tablets will also be distributed for capturing data. The system will allow to generate accurate statistics on the health of the population such as the incidence and prevalence of chronic disorders including diabetes or hypertension or prostrate.

Through the program professionals of “El Médico en Tu Casa” have visited 2.7 million homes.

Telmex guarantees the highest security standards and confidentiality of patients’ personal data. The foundation will enable technology transfer, assembly of information systems, and training and organization of the work teams in the Ministry of Health.

Through the Hospital Administration and Medical Information System (SAMIH), Mexico City aims to become the first Latin American district to implement the ECE in its entire network of public health services, consisting of 31 hospitals and 220 health centers.

Leading the trend were products related to artificial respiration; massage equipment; instruments and equipment using UV, visible or IR optical radiations; as well as CT Scanners, X-ray machines, radiography/radiotherapy equipment. In number of units, all these categories demonstrated a CAGR of over 20% from 2014 to 2016f.

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The NIH forms a very prominent part of health system and provide services with high quality services for free. Mexico occupies the 29^th position in scientific production globally and second in Latin America. UNAM is the most important academic center of the country with 4,598 researchers in the National System of Researchers (SNI), followed by the CONACYT research centers with 1,661.

The NIH and the Hospitals of High Specialty have 1,188 SNI researchers. The formation of the “National Consortium for Research and Innovation in Translational Medicine” will allow a greater involvement of UNAM, CONACYT and the health sector to move from basic research to clinical applications and technological developments.

Inter-institutional cooperation becomes the backbone of this consortium. Transnational medicine was defined as medicine/technology where one can transfer from one place to another. The NIH will be conducting most of the clinical research and teaching supported by UNAM and CONACYT.

The consortium will also be supported by trusts, foundations and companies. Within this framework, awards were given to 10 distinguished researchers from the health system.