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January 23, 2024 17 mins

Today we are speaking with Rafael López and Andres Scheffler of Diagnostikare, a Mexico-based health and wellness services platform that utilizes cutting-edge technology to provide personalized, patient-centric healthcare. 

Since its founding in 2019, they have become Mexico's leading online platform for primary care. 

This organization has won a number of awards and you can hear in both Rafael and Andres’ voice how passionate they are about increasing access to care! Enjoy the show!

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Thank you for visiting the Medi Ops show brought to you by the Medical Logistics and Transportation Organization,
Medi Apps.
I'm your host Ryland Stone.
Today we are speaking with Rafael Lopez and Andres Scheffler of Diagnostica,
a Mexico based Health and Wellness services platform that utilizes cutting edge technology to provide personalized patient centric health care.

(00:30):
Since their founding in 2019,
they have become Mexico's leading online platform for primary care.
This organization has won a number of awards and you can hear in both Rafael and Andres's voice,
how passionate they are about increasing access to care.
I hope you enjoy the show.
Hey,
Rafael,
thank you so much for coming on the show today.
Thanks for having me here,
Ryland.

(00:50):
It's a pleasure.
Well,
we'll kind of jump right into it.
I'm really excited to hear about your company.
We're live at health 2023.
Uh But let's,
let's go back in time.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Uh You guys flew all the way up here from Mexico.
So give me some,
some background.
Sure.
Uh So I train as a systems engineer.
I've always been passionate about uh how technology can actually solve uh our problems in,

(01:11):
in life in any single aspect or sector.
Uh Finally,
my brother who happens to be the other uh co-founder.
Uh he trained as a physician.
He's a,
he's a surgeon uh in Mexico.
We come from a family with a background of uh either engineers or uh doctors in the family.
So it was uh 2017,

(01:31):
maybe even earlier that we both decided we wanted to blend our experiences and uh kinda like merge uh what we both enjoy on our passions into a solution that could actually have an impact in uh thousands,
if not millions of people uh back in Mexico.
OK.
So what was the problem that you identified uh before you started this company,

(01:52):
you're,
you're in all that realm of health care.
What did you see?
Yeah,
absolutely.
So,
uh I mean,
Mexico is 100 and 20 million uh people country.
It's not free from uh I mean,
the challenges and situations that you would face in any other emerging markets,
uh access to care remains uh a big issue to solve.

(02:14):
Uh There's over one third of that population.
You're talking about 40 million people lacking any sort of a private or public uh health care access to basic services.
No wonder why out of pocket expenses in the country are amongst the highest in the region.
Meaning people have to pay cash from their own money to get just basic uh services like uh clinical visits,

(02:40):
lab tests,
even medications.
So there's a huge opportunity in terms of uh making low cost,
high quality,
affordable service for uh people in the country.
But with a strong focus on preventative care and health care promotion.
Sadly,
uh chronic diseases remain on the rise in in Mexico.

(03:02):
It's estimated that around 75% of the people in the country is either uh facing obesity issues or even pre diabetic conditions.
So there's a lot to be done,
not only in providing care but ensuring people are aware of how to remain healthy and help them uh live healthier lives now with the means that they,

(03:26):
that they have.
So that's what we saw.
And then we said,
there's definitely a massive opportunity on uh and it's a,
it's a cliche word but disrupting the landscape.
No.
OK.
So now you have all that background.
Where did you start?
Yes.
So we said,
OK,
let's build,
I mean,
beyond building an app or beyond building a platform,

(03:50):
we actually wanted to go above and beyond and said,
let's build the health care model uh that leverages technology A I analytics,
uh I mean a clinical setting as well and strong clinical uh background to make sure it's uh confident and trustworthy for patients to deliver.

(04:11):
Just as I said,
uh care mostly on a virtual setting uh in a super cost efficient yet high quality way.
So we've built,
I mean,
it's a model in the form of a health care platform for uh primary care services.
And we provide a wider range of uh primary care services to our patients.

(04:33):
From the,
I mean,
starting off with uh being able to speak to a clinician,
get mental health support,
uh get well being and nutrition uh support as well.
And also a lot of uh preventative care guidance and coaching to keep them engaged into their health.
And uh yeah,
effectively accompanying them throughout their whole uh care journey uh in a in any single year.

(04:58):
So,
yeah,
you guys are tackling everything.
You're,
you're really going after a big market,
we're confident and very uh I mean,
with this strong approach that primary care should be the uh entry point for any care uh setting or any health care model.
So,
I mean,

(05:19):
just as the uh who and other um health care organisms,
uh always typically say if you have a strong primary care that you invest in and you have a strong focus on health care prevention and promotion,
then you're effectively solving from 80 to 90% of uh humans uh health care issues throughout their lives and then just leaving the other remaining interpreted for most sophisticated or complex conditions.

(05:45):
So that's where we're focusing our efforts and developments.
Very exciting.
So are you,
are you guys directly providing the care?
Are you a primary clinic?
So it's a mix.
It's an interesting question.
We have uh uh clinical staff in house that provides the first uh point of care to our patients.
And this is a mix of clinicians from uh GPS uh mental health specialists,

(06:11):
psychologists,
nutritionists,
even occupational health specialists that are the first front line for our uh patients.
But then we also have a standardized referral process and method in which we can actually uh I mean point patients into other sort of uh services or,
or uh facilities,

(06:33):
the likes of uh lab testing or even specialty care as well.
So it's a,
it's a mix of uh components.
Yes.
And then you're optimizing all of the systems with the help of technology.
That's right.
So each patient that uh engages with us has to go through a,
a very,
I mean,
friendly yet comprehensive uh health creation profile in which we collect key data from,

(06:58):
from this patient to understand who they are.
How can we serve them better get to know a bit more about their previous health care conditions.
Then this uh somehow ends into a health profile risk profile that we have for each patient and within uh our database and the help of technology and the platform that we've built,

(07:22):
we're able to suggest uh what's the right approach or program for this patient to engage with uh in order for us to not only be there when the patients are sick,
but also try to,
I mean,
incentivize and promote a healthier uh path just as I said,
throughout any given year uh that this patient might need or not need.

(07:45):
Uh speaking to a doctor,
we wanna be there for them.
A long,
a long time.
Very,
very interesting.
What's your guys',
I guess,
core purpose or mission statement?
Uh uh something like that for your market or,
or what you guys are trying to achieve?
Yeah,
I mean,
I would say it's,
it's a simple yet uh strong one which is how can we uh make health care way more accessible uh for people again.

(08:13):
But back to the point that this remains a big challenge and an issue yet to be solved in a country like Mexico.
And it's no different in other Latin American countries for us is about how do we make sure most of the people can actually access our services just with their phone through their employers through other uh third party services.

(08:38):
Uh Mexico is a country with over 90% of the smartphone penetration,
which is good for us because that way you're ensuring uh you have an easier uh way to access uh people and make sure that they can engage into a solution.
So that's definitely our number one objective.

(08:59):
Uh I would say alongside raising awareness on how preventative care uh is the way to go.
It's way easier to invest in prevention and way cheaper as well than being chasing uh the illnesses or the chronic conditions once they've developed.
No,

(09:19):
for sure.
OK.
Well,
I uh and Andres is one of your other team members here.
He's just been sitting quietly while we've been chatting.
Uh But Andres,
do you wanna,
we can hand the mic over and you want to give a little bit more background on the like your,
your revenue models,
um how you are acquiring customers and then also how are you guys making money?

(09:41):
OK.
So,
well,
my background is I'm a people's person.
So I'm the business developer and commercial right now of diagnostic care.
So first of all the market in Mexico um is still validating because um a as different in the United States uh Mexicans don't really trust in the digital.

(10:09):
Uh Very interesting.
Yeah,
but after COVID,
all that taboo kind of um started to end.
Yeah,
they,
they were more comfortable with digital after that massive shift.
Yeah.
And we saw that in the,
in the,
in the interest of the clients,
we sell B to B right now.

(10:31):
Uh the focus is to the,
to the enterprises and big companies and the insurance companies and uh sorry,
I just lost myself.
He always do that.
Um We,
we have three models of revenue.

(10:53):
The we want to penetrate insurance enterprises and channel partners.
The channel partners are like making deals with pharmacies,
hospitals that they can sell our product and,
and get revenue as well as us and you'll just,
you're like an extension of their team for that primary care.

(11:15):
Yeah.
And,
and we want to enter the government as well because the public system is,
they have a lot of,
of people to attend and they don't,
don't give the,
the numbers to take.
They,
they are not efficient.
So with our platform and with the,
the prim,
the primary care,

(11:36):
um we can help them to be more efficient and to uh separate the,
the differences of the levels of,
of,
of the kernel.
Yeah.
No,
I think you guys are doing really great work,
especially in an emerging market that seems wildly untapped for health care.

(11:57):
So I think it's really cool to see what you guys are doing and I think you have had a lot of traction to date as you both look out over the next five years is your main goal scale and I don't know if Andre is that's the answer for you or Rafael.
Um But what are your next steps over the next five years?
Yeah,
definitely.
So,
uh there's opportunities for us to move down into South America either with some of our current clients and new clients that we've been uh prospecting and obviously finding a way as to how we can leverage what we've built in Mexico and then uh take it down in the region,

(12:34):
which is always an interesting approach.
However,
and just as Andres was mentioning the market,
it's just picking up in terms of uh needing this sort of uh solutions both from uh uh payer side like insurance companies or even employers,
which uh we typically work with.

(12:55):
Uh So I guess,
I mean,
the next year,
year and a half for us will be still focused on uh penetrating the Mexican market while keeping a close eye on how we can start uh maybe rolling out part of our solution into other uh key players in the region.
Uh And it's obviously about scale.

(13:16):
No,
we have,
we have uh at the moment over 200,000 people under coverage.
But if you think that there's uh at least 40 to 50 million people in the country needing any sort of uh basic access to care,
then the opportunity remains massive even if we've only stayed in the,

(13:37):
in Mexico.
No.
So I mean,
if you have your scale now and you said 40 million,
yeah,
I mean,
the,
the uh stats around the amount of people lacking or needing uh basic care services sums up to 40 even 50 million people.
So that's the size of the UK almost for any entrepreneurs that are listening.

(13:58):
What would be your advice to them if they wanted to enter Mexico as a market?
Yeah,
that's a good question.
I think me Mexico,
I mean,
has a lot of uh challenges in different sectors.
Obviously,
those challenges can easily be turned into opportunities.
Uh But I guess it comes down to understanding the culture,

(14:20):
the obviously the regulatory landscape as well,
which is quite particular compared to,
to how business is done in other,
in other markets.
Uh But I guess a key topic would be,
you need to understand the culture and how people do business in Mexico.
It's a very,
uh how can I explain relationship driven?

(14:44):
Gotcha type of uh dynamic.
No,
you need to uh build rapport and you need to build uh confidence and,
and trustworthy in the other uh party before actually expecting to move into a business transaction.
No,
I opposed to you.
Um I,
I mean,
I opposed to how it would be maybe another uh economies that are much more transactional driven.

(15:10):
So that's key point.
Number one,
I mean,
understand the landscape,
understand the market and understand who your buyer or your customer might be because it might take a while before you actually uh close uh a deal.
Uh But if you nail it and if you find the right problem to solve and you create that report and that uh trust in your other party,

(15:32):
then there's opportunities for success of,
of course,
no great advice.
How is health?
Uh 2023 been treating you guys?
I mean,
it's been amazing.
It's our second year here.
Uh Lots of things going on as always happy to catch up and connect with business partners,
investors uh that sometimes you only have this,
this time in the year to,

(15:52):
to catch up in person.
Uh It's always mind blowing not to see everything that's going on and super excited to be back home and,
and get things uh moving and,
and I mean,
reengaging with uh all the uh interesting partnership opportunities and connections that we've uh constantly been making here.
It's very,

(16:12):
very exciting.
I'll definitely be watching your guys' Journey as you continue to scale.
Uh really fascinating and super exciting to watch.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Thank you for having us to uh connect with you guys.
Where could they find uh more about diagnostic care?
You can find us uh on internet linkedin on start up health uh portfolio builders,

(16:39):
portfolio plug and play.
Great.
What else,
Rafael?
Yeah,
I think,
I mean,
just uh diagnostic her as it's uh spelled,
that's,
that's how we are on every uh s uh social media channel.
Uh And yeah,
and happy to happy to connect with anyone who's interested in learning more.
Great and we'll link both of your guys'.

(16:59):
Uh linkedin's in the description of the,
the episode as well as uh a link to Diagnostica itself.
Uh Thank you so much again.
Appreciate your time.
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