The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Barcelona Health Hub (BHH), has calculated that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Catalan healthcare system can lead to annual savings of 3 billion euros and some 6,700 lives saved. The corporation has analyzed the impact of using new technologies such as robotics or remote control devices for the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and control of patients, which can also free up some 30 million hours for healthcare professionals, a figure equivalent to the work of 8,300 full-time doctors and nurses.
The study Socioeconomic impact of the digital health sector also quantifies the savings that the implementation of teleconsultation in primary care can bring, which went from representing 20% of medical visits to 62% between 2018 and 2021, an exponential growth clearly affected by the arrival of the pandemic. According to the Barcelona Chamber, the public sector can cut the bill by 110 million euros with the generalization of telemedicine in the healthcare system. This figure rises to 452 million euros if the social impact is analyzed and factors such as lower transport costs (144 million euros), the reduction in polluting emissions (2 million euros), or opportunity costs (195 million euros) are added.
Likewise, the Barcelona Chamber determines the cost per medical consultation according to its modality: 35 euros if it is at the center; 62 euros at home, and 31.6 euros telematically. In the case of nursing consultations, the same trend is followed: 24 euros if it is at the center; 36 euros at home, and 22 euros telematically. These consultations were digitized less than medical ones, starting from 10% of visits in 2019 and reaching 28% in 2021.
Having calculated the savings that the adoption of AI or telemedicine can bring, reducing medical expenses and the workload of professionals, the report highlights the assets available to the Catalan capital to position itself as a reference hub in the digital health sector. Currently, it is made up of 212 companies that invoiced 356 million euros in 2021.
First, it is highlighted that Catalonia has a strong life and health sciences ecosystem, contributing 4.3% of GDP and 1.7% of the employed population, in addition to having strong academic production focused on this sector. It is also noted that the Catalan capital is the main hub for startups in Southern Europe, with more than 2,000 emerging companies. Among these, the healthtech sector is the one that concentrates the most, with 16%. This is accompanied by a strong capacity to attract investment, having raised 351.7 million euros in 2022, 15% of the total investment raised by Catalan startups.