When one walks through the headquarters of the Barcelona Health Hub (BHH) one might think that the activity is not very intense. The offices and coworking spaces are quite empty, only a few people work in person. But the reality is that the startups and corporations based in the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau have been overwhelmed with work for months. The boost that the pandemic has given to the telemedicine sector has skyrocketed the activity of these companies. In turn, this sudden change has meant that the hub that hosts them has not yet been able to crystallize the same in its facilities and is waiting for the pandemic to be a thing of the past to continue growing in Barcelona. One of the many paradoxes of the current moment.
[subscribe_newsletter_esp]
With hospitals collapsed by covid-19, telemedicine ---the provision of healthcare services remotely, through technologies such as telephone, email, video calls, chats or bots--- has been a way to reduce exposure to the virus and social interaction. It has been used to detect suspected cases of coronavirus and to follow up on those who were mild positives or contacts and had to confine themselves at home. But it has also served to monitor patients with long-term treatments, who were monitored with in-person consultations before the health crisis.
Without a doubt, digital health has grown exponentially in recent months, in line with what has happened with teleworking or distance education. In Catalonia, virtual consultations compared to in-person ones in Primary Care grew considerably from March to mid-April, multiplying by five, but also once the peak of the first wave was overcome, according to BHH in a report prepared with Esadecreapolis.
In Catalonia, virtual consultations compared to in-person ones in Primary Care grew considerably from March to mid-April, multiplying by five, but also once the peak of the first wave was overcomeBarcelona Health Hub (BHH) has been dedicated since 2018 to promoting, precisely, telemedicine. It is a private non-profit association that brings together startups, corporations, and investors in the same building, with the aim of connecting them with each other and with the different agents in the health sector, fostering innovation and transferring their discoveries to the market. Key players in the sector participate, such as Hospital Vall d'Hebrón, the Institut Català de Salut (ICS) or the Universitat de Barcelona (UB);startupsas Adan Medical, Made of Gens and Mediktor, and large corporations such as Almirall and DKV.
An empty hub due to the pandemic that has boosted its activity
Before the health crisis began, the hub was already completely full and was studying which pavilion in the modernist Sant Pau complex could expand its activity. "If it weren't for the pandemic, we would already have two pavilions," remarks BHH CEO, Luis Badrinas. Now, these plans have been momentarily halted, with the rise of teleworking as a cause that, curiously, harms a space that promoted the development of telemedicine in the same physical space.
"If it weren't for the pandemic, we would already have two pavilions," remarks BHH CEO, Luis BadrinasDespite this, Badrinas continues to think about future plans for the hub. Además de continuar creciendo en Sant Pau cuando el coronavirus lo permita, Badrinas también tiene en mente replicar el modelo del BHH en Madrid. "Estamos pensando en montar una filial allí", explica, ya que es una ciudad donde las experiencias emprendedoras están cogiendo fuerza, después de ver el dinamismo que han dado en Barcelona. In addition to continuing to grow in Sant Pau when the coronavirus allows, Badrinas also has in mind to replicate the BHH model in Madrid. "We are thinking of setting up a subsidiary there," he explains, as it is a city where entrepreneurial experiences are gaining strength, after seeing the dynamism they have brought to Barcelona.
Iconic location
When they were looking for a place to locate the BHH, Badrinas recalls that they wanted to find a place that was within a hospital complex. They considered going to Clínic and Vall d'Hebrón, but Sant Pau was the one that ended up convincing them. The hub is located in the Sant Manuel Pavilion of the Sant Pau Modernist Complex, which was built between 1922 and 1925. Designed by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner and completed by his son, Pere Domènech i Roura, the building has a total area of about 2,500 square meters, which was originally intended for male general surgery. It has also been the headquarters of the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM) and Casa Àsia.
Coworking spaces, offices and meeting rooms are mixed on the five floors occupied by the BHH in the Sant Manuel Pavilion. The hub also takes advantage of its terrace to organize events, with a privileged view, from where you can see the entire Modernist Complex and even the Casa de Convalescència, away from the central core of the complex, where patients went to recover after operations. As a curiosity, the incubator that Almirall has in the underground floor, Digital Garden, overlooks the underground ambulance corridors that were originally designed in the complex to connect the different pavilions from below.
More than 200 members
In just two years, the BHH has managed to gather 220 members, with 140 startups, 35 companies, 38 healthcare institutions and universities, and seven investors. The participation of emerging companies such as Adan Medical Innovation, Iomed, Cuideo, Doctoralia, Elma, Made of Genes, and Mediktor stands out; large corporations such as Almirall, Asisa, Bayer, Catalana Occidente, DKV, Everis, Ferrer, Fiatc Seguros, Mapfre, Novartis, Sanitas, or Zurich, and investors such as Alta Life Sciences, Braincats, Sabadell BStartup, Capital Cell, and Nina Capital.
Also part of the BHH are the Institut Català de Salut (ICS), Vall d'Hebrón hospital and Sant Pau hospital, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Blanquerna, IESE, and TecnoCampus, among other partners.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
