Popularization of telemedicine boosts sector startups and streamlines care

The emergence of healthtechs, startups that innovate in ways of serving users, helps boost supplementary health in Brazil. Between 2021 and 2022, the sector grew 3.5%, according to data from Fenasaúde (National Federation of Supplementary Health).

The Open Innovation platform, which monitors around 15,000 startups in Brazil, mapped 357 new healthtechs in 2021, and the number has already jumped to 1,023 by mid-2022, according to a report by the entrepreneurship platform Distrito.

In the world, giants like Amazon, Apple and Meta also invest in healthtechs. According to Caio Soares, physician and president of Associação Saúde Digital Brasil, in two years of the pandemic, the sector has grown the equivalent of 20 years.

Investments by startups and traditional operators that are betting on the digital segment jumped from BRL 500 billion to BRL 900 billion, even in the face of the crisis scenario.

“The new services offered, from consultations to complex diagnoses, can be purchased by around 50 million users in the direct-to-consumer (B2C) segment. There has also been an expansion of healthtechs working in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, offering technology and models for hospitals and operators”, says Soares.

The increasingly frequent use of telemedicine and AI (artificial intelligence) in remote diagnosis help explain the expansion. Among the benefits are reduced costs, faster service, lower rates of hospitalization, consultations and unnecessary tests.

Antonio Carlos Endrigo, co-president of the Global Summit Telemedicine & Digital Health, says that the creation of new investment funds is what supports the sector’s expansion. “The Ministry of Health’s 2020 ordinance that regulated distance care was also fundamental. The challenge now is not to allow the use of these new technologies to become more elite”, he says.

Endrigo argues that the country should move towards electronic registration and the implementation of a single patient record, which would gather the entire history of care and procedures of the person, increasing efficiency in monitoring.

Carlos Pedrotti, medical manager of the Telemedicine Center at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, points out that, even with the weakening of the pandemic, the numbers of remote consultations remain, reaching 2,000 per day. Einstein invests in automated sorting through AI.

“Equity is the word of the future: equal treatment for all”, he says. The hospital also participates in investment rounds in startups.

Kompa Saúde, a healthtech from São Paulo, wants to attract low-income customers. The company has grown three times a year on average over the past three years. Today, it serves around 50,000 people.

The use of proprietary AI technology reduced the cost of its operations by 200%, thanks to the agility and assertiveness in customer service. For a low monthly cost, users perform the first consultations with AI and are only referred to specialists if necessary.

The cultural aspect, however, is pointed out by Bruno Carvalho, the company’s CEO, as one of the main challenges for a greater presence in retail.

“In the US, for example, 70% of seniors are not opposed to using virtual care as a first contact for a diagnosis. In Brazil, only younger people do not see a problem with this”, he says.

Kompa user, retired Kátia Veríssimo, 55, from São Paulo, says that the virtual service, the first of her life at a distance, was important when she had pain and needed to consult without leaving home. Kátia was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

“It’s very practical. The monthly fee is also good. Today, I continue to provide remote assistance and, when indicated, face-to-face.”

Operating in the B2B segment, the startup Laura, from Curitiba, has been offering, since 2010, the Laura robot, its AI solution, for digitizing health coordination for operators, hospitals and public bodies, such as Unimed and the Curitiba Health Department ( PR).

Laura’s CEO and co-founder, Cristian Rocha says AI is able to make proper referrals and accurate diagnoses. “It also takes care of data management, which is fundamental for all processes. It is estimated that Laura will grow between 60% and 70% in 2023”, he says.

Another startup, Viziomed, from Recife (PE), also makes its technology available to operators, hospitals and other startups. It specializes in diagnostic imaging using AI.

Filipe Guerra, one of the founders, highlights the presence in 22 states and the connection with 128 clinics. “There are 2,192 daily requisitions. We started in 2020, when we received the first financial contribution. For 2023, the estimate is to close with R$ 4 million in revenue in contracts.”