Innovation

CuidaMED is a bracelet for medical use that contains information from the patient who uses it; the bracelet works with a digital platform where the user's clinical information is available.

With the support of this medical bracelet, the elderly pacient or people suffering from chronic degenerative diseases, whom have seen themselves alone on previous emergencies, accident or memory loss and did not have the assistance of any relative, professional health worker or friend, are able now to receive support and proper care. Available information about health conditions, allergies, physical problems or simply an accurate address, can make a significant difference in difficult situations, or they could even save a life. In Mexico, the third cause of death in emergencies is due to patient’s misinformation, an alarming fact that can be mitigated with a product such as the CuidaMED bracelet.

The bracelet shows to the doctors the most important information of the user, it is a practical, safe and minimally invasive device for those who use it, it was designed in order to speed up care in emergencies. The information on the bracelet is linked to a CuidaMED platform where the family doctor can instantly send information, hence any other physician, specialist or person from emergency services or hospitals can make the best posible decision and apply the best treatment, no matter where the user is being served.

The service includes SMS notifications about incidents that put the integrity of the user at risk, allowing caregiver or patient’s family to follow it up. Likewise, the company is concerned about safeguarding patient’s information, allowing only authorized contacts, emergency personnel, doctors and hospitals to have access to it. The bracelet shows relevant information for rescue personnel, the key codes are found on the back of the bracelet, the information is only allowed to be viewed by emergency services or hospitals personnel.

Inspiration

The bracelet idea came from a previous experience of the founder. One time Miriam went out with her father to the mall for shopping, She was carelessly looking at some items in a store, when suddenly her father disappeared. She was terribly concerned as her father was suffering from Alzheimer's condition. Those moments were of great anguish and hopelessness, so she was determined to limit the possibility of this situation repeating. She looked for an alternative that could allow other people dealing with the same type of problems, to not experience these awful or even worse events. Through this situation, the founder had the idea to create the bracelet with the main purpose of helping people who suffer from similar conditions, as her father does, supporting also relatives in their care.

Overall impact

This project has been the spearhead in the company, being a sustainable business where it has allowed CuidaMED to positively impact the environment in this sector with the most vulnerable people. Patients have been benefited in several ways, health care staff of any hospital or institution have been able to provide more effective medical care during an emergency situation, despite not knowing the patients' background. As well as to reunite users with their families when they have lost their way at some point of crisis.

The benefit of the project in the short term can be observed from the first registered patient. The benefits are not only focused on the patient, also on the family members, providing confidence and security to relatives, as well as accuracy and timely support to health care professionals.

In the long term, it is expected to continue growing in the number of patients and relatives with the intention of impacting in a positive way the entire sector and thus give them better care and have a greater number of tools for their care and safety.

Business benefit

CuidaMED has had significant growth since its inception in 2019, now the company is working on the contracts to work with hospitals and major medical insurances to be able to use the bracelets on their patients and acquire the benefits of the entire program. The project is still in the growth part, both private institutions in the health sector and other private companies have shown interest in developing the project.

In our country, the clinical history is not approved or shared in the event of an accident, the emergency services have time against them to attend the person quickly and without information, the task is complicated, so the impact of this product with its platform has the opportunity to open a non-existent market in Mexico, with an important impact on the health sector.

Social and environmental benefit

In regards of the impact on the community, the project focuses on the health and safety of patients. First stage has helped between 150 to 300 people in the central and southern region of Mexico, increasing its impact between 450 to 900 closer relatives at times of emergency or crisis. The benefit are not only for patients but also family members, caregivers and nurses, supporting their work of caring and giving users a better quality of life. And the number of mistakes have been implicitly reduced when patients wear bracelets during an emergency, as they can be treated in a more personalized and effective way.

Interview

Miriam Caballero, Origin of CuidaMED