Scientific and technological advances in medicine are relentless.
Highlights:
- Dr. Werner Damm highlights the profound impact of AI in revolutionizing diagnostics and check-ups, enabling faster and more accurate diagnoses, large-scale screenings, and improved medical care productivity and specificity.
- CAR-T cell therapy, introduced at Ángeles Lomas Hospital for treating hematological oncological diseases such as lymphomas, leukemias, and myelomas, involves modifying a patient’s T lymphocytes to attack cancer cells more effectively, with research extending to solid tumors and autoimmune diseases.
- The use of robotic surgery, particularly noted for procedures like radical prostatectomy, offers greater precision, safety, and speed, thanks to 3D visualization and articulated instruments, enhancing the outcomes of surgical interventions.
- Dr. Damm discusses the global shift towards a value-based compensation model for doctors, allowing for more dedicated patient care and medical research, a contrast to Mexico’s current system, which often limits doctors’ time for research due to heavy surgery schedules.
- Highlighting the need for improved health coverage in Mexico, Dr. Damm advocates for public-private partnerships to extend healthcare to the most vulnerable, drawing on the success of previous programs that addressed catastrophic diseases.
We have witnessed significant scientific and technological medical advances in the last five years. Undoubtedly, observing how these are applied in daily practice can be complex, and it’s natural to wonder: What innovations are currently being used? Dr. Werner Damm, director of Ángeles Lomas Hospital, shares his perspective on five trends in the health sector.
1. AI is revolutionizing diagnostics and check-ups:
The impact of AI in healthcare is profound. It enables faster and more accurate diagnoses, facilitates large-scale screenings, and enhances the productivity and specificity of medical care and treatment. Dr. Damm explains, “We are already applying AI. We partner with a company in the United States to review all mammograms with artificial intelligence.” Additionally, it could be used to streamline medical check-ups. “There is now a full-body CT scan with special protocols that can perform a medical check-up complemented with some blood samples.“
We are already applying AI. We partner with a company in the United States to review all mammograms with artificial intelligence.
Werner Damm
2. CAR-T cell therapy opens new paths:
Treatments for oncological diseases have been primarily chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. While these continue to be the mainstays of management, new treatments are emerging. “Something here at the hospital that we have just signed is a personalized treatment for hematological oncological diseases, such as lymphomas, leukemias, and myelomas,” explains Dr. Damm. This involves CAR-T cell therapy, “where the patient’s blood is drawn, processed, and T lymphocytes are obtained.” These immune cells are modified in the laboratory to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. “It is now under research for solid tumors of the prostate, stomach, intestine, lung, brain, and in sarcomas. There are also studies for autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis.”
There are also studies for autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis.
Werner Damm
3. Robotic surgery is more precise:
Robotic surgery has come a long way since the introduction of the Da Vinci® system in Mexico. With its 3D cameras and 360° articulated instruments, it helps to perform less invasive and more precise procedures. “There is no better treatment than robotic surgery for a radical prostatectomy. Robotic surgery has safety parameters, where you never affect either the vessels or the nerves because the robot itself has a screen where those structures are colored, and you cannot get there because the robot stops you.” While surgeons use robotic assistance, they do not lose control over the procedure, but achieve greater precision in cutting, tissue retraction, and suturing, with greater speed and accuracy. “Our program is the most robust. So much so that we have the Robotic Surgery Training Center here.”
There is no better treatment than robotic surgery for a radical prostatectomy
Werner Damm
4. Towards a value model to serve patients:
The global medical compensation model is shifting towards a value model. For example, the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. adopted an approach that combines a base salary with incentives, allowing doctors to spend the necessary time caring for their patients and conducting research. In this context, in Mexico, some doctors face hectic schedules and dedicate days exclusively to surgeries, making medical research impossible. “To achieve this, the preparation and capability of the doctors have to be very homogeneous. Suppose you have a multidisciplinary team that works well, has excellent results, and publishes. That inevitably leads to the hospital attracting patients at the end of the day,” states Dr. Damm.
Suppose you have a multidisciplinary team that works well, has excellent results, and publishes. That inevitably leads to the hospital attracting patients at the end of the day.
Werner Damm
5. Public-private partnerships to benefit the most vulnerable:
Mexico has the lowest health coverage of all OECD countries. A good practice for extending the right to health to the most vulnerable population is through public-private partnerships. “The Seguro Popular program addressed catastrophic diseases, especially cancer. It was a program where the private sector was the operator. It would be appropriate to revive it. A program between the government and the private health system, governed by an entity, with controlled costs.”
A program between the government and the private health system, governed by an entity, with controlled costs.
Werner Damm
This wave of innovations is already changing the field of medicine. Artificial intelligence, CAR-T cell therapies, and robotic surgery are not just promises but realities. Moreover, there is an even more promising future that will take time to adopt value-centered models to allow doctors to fully dedicate themselves to caring for their patients and to advance scientific progress. We also hope that during the next six-year term, there will be a greater willingness to form partnerships between the public and private sectors to benefit the most vulnerable people. Collaboration among professionals and institutions and implementing appropriate policies will be essential to building this future.
