02-Jul-15 Konica Minolta announced it has acquired Sawae Technologica Ltda, an X-ray equipment manufacturer based in Minas Gerais. Brazil requires significant healthcare technical advancement and efficiencies as the population expands. Konica Minolta will gain Sawae's strong market recognition, nationwide sales network and local manufacturing capability to deliver high quality and price competitive X-ray solutions. [image: Konica Minolta]

19-Jun-15 With the exception of Brazil, most countries in Latin America rely almost exclusively on imports of medical devices. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia together accounted for more than 75% of imported devices in 2014. Mexico is the largest importer of the region at over USD2.5 billion in 2014. [image: Global Health Intelligence]

03-Jun-15 Brazil's ambitious community-based, primary care approach, the Family Health Strategy, was launched in 1994. A study by UCLA finds that the approach is working. It is cost-effective and has led to reductions in infant mortality, hospitalizations due to chronic conditions, and deaths from stroke and heart disease. [image: UCLA Newsroom].

20-Feb-15 Columbia has announced new price regulations for medical devices from Mar-15. Medicated coronary stents will be the first device to be affected, followed by cochlear implants, hearing aids and orthopedic devices. The move is expected to result in 36% reduction in prices and USD14 billion in annual savings for the national health system. [image: mashmedical]

Latin America’s lack of fiscal discipline is likely to prevent public health from addressing adequately the additional costs of an aging population. That paves the way for massive private sector growth in fields such as telemedicine, healthcare IT, medical devices and medical technologies, that help personalise medicine or improve the efficiency of doctors and other healthcare professionals. [Image: Global Health Intelligence]