after the pandemic for him covid-19, The health sector faced different challenges, such as research and promotion of the medical specialties needed by the country’s patients.
Santiago López, director of the Clinic of the CountrY and the La Colina Clinic, In dialogue with Portafolio, he talked about the progress they have made in terms of investment and the projects under management after the pandemic.
What services is Clínica del Country offering?
For 60 years we have a position in traditional specialties, mainly in maternal and child care. We also have internal medicine and general surgery. We work in other specialties such as plastic surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery and spinal surgery. At this time, the Clínica del Country, celebrating its 60th anniversary, is promoting seven specialties that are important, such as oncology and others that the city requires, such as cardiovascular medicine, highly complex orthopedics, spinal surgery, neuroscience, metabolic surgery, kidney transplantation and of bone marrow.
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What expectations do you have for the future?
We are developing a new project, which will be ready in six years. It is a new tower with 170 beds, an emergency center, 14 operating rooms and the integration of these specialized units. Currently, we have a capacity that is close to 600 beds and responds to the needs that I have mentioned.
How are they doing with the country’s EPS?
We work with contributory plan medicine, prepaid and special policies. There is an important segment that are EPS patients, in specific highly complex agreements, we are talking about people with bone marrow and kidney transplants and some oncology. The clinic demonstrated, in its two locations, that covid care was the commitment to care for patients regardless of their health plan. We also have other specific ones that consult the emergency services and that have a resolution of their emergency situations in the most efficient way and not only send the standards of health care.
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How is the financial balance of the clinic going?
After having had a great negative economic impact in the pandemic due to the volume of patients (we treated more than 9,000 with covid), many were not covered by a health plan and the clinic had to take on some of them. We partially gave up the productivity of the business units that are the most profitable, such as scheduled surgery, which made us have a couple of years 2020-2021 quite difficult. But we have had a recovery based on the rigor of appropriate financial management in meeting basic commitments. Thanks to this recovery, we can think about investing in the country, which allows us not only to recover the clinic, but also the infrastructure that was badly hit and betting on new technology.
The market for orthopedic doctors is complex in the country. How do you see this situation?
Orthopedics at the Country and La Colina clinic has been very strong. We have a group of doctors affiliated with and that has been one of the points, not only of development, but also of recognition of the service provided in the clinics. Today we are migrating to two important points and it is high complexity, such as joint replacement surgeries and spinal surgery as a completely different business unit. We recently incorporated an orthopedist on permanent and available duty to the emergency group.
Santiago López Director of the Country Clinic
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What has been invested in?
The biggest investment is the new infrastructure project that has a very big economic ambition. Additionally, in technological renovation, surgery equipment, laparoscopy, a nuclear medicine unit, among others. We invest in a more complete and qualified resource, strengthening units such as oncology, taking into account that investment in human resources is one of the most important. Between direct and indirect employees, we exceed 3,500. In addition, we want to provide differential specialized care each time and continue thinking about the differential care that has positioned us in 60 years.
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Regarding utility, what do they use it for?
We, being a private company, have a reinvestment responsibility. But all our value promises, we finance from reinvestment. We also have social responsibility activities, which has allowed us to be present in the places where we have to be. In the implementation plan of the new project, we have invested $1,000 million in traffic lights alone.
What other entities do you have alliances with?
We have contracts with prepaid medicines, mainly with Sanitas, Colmédica, Compensar, Sura, Medplus, Axa Colpatria, Famisanar in a complementary plan. Mainly those are our closest and most frequent customers.
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How do you expect to close 2022?
It has been a year in which we were able to recover, with a very high volume of patients. The clinics are with 80% and 85% occupancy and the recovery of surgical activity for patients who did not have access to it during the pandemic. It is a good closing, and that what makes us understand is that the commitment to growth.
DIANA K. RODRIGUEZ T.
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