High quality low cost medical services for people on low incomes.
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
How to Create Market-Based Strategies that Benefit Low-Income Communities competition.
medical services Optometric consultations, ophthalmology, general medicine, gynaecology, audiology, otorrinolaringology, clinical laboratory, odontology, ocular and auditive surgery, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids. Our main clients are people with limited resources who come from rural areas and larger metropolitan areas. Our products are delivered in a private clinic with a high level of technology and first class professionals but the prices are 70% lower than in the private sector. Money is not a problem in our clinic if the patient does not have any, and the same goes for social study, which is covered by a free service. The majority of our clients, however, are low cost patients and this has allowed us to be self-sufficient for the last 10 years. If somebody is ill and does not have the economic resources to resolve their problem then they have no quality of life. The impact caused by our institution not only reflects on our patients once they are returned to health but also on the market in general of our country that has lowered its prices in order to be competitive.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Sector of activity
Healthcare
Other sector of activity
Medical specialities
On the mosaic diagram, which of these factors is the primary focus of your work?
Factor
Limited purchasing power of individual clients
Principle
Design products and services that tap into the wealth of poor
Health for all. Solidarity and compromise with those who have less.
Name Your Project
High quality low cost medical services for people on low incomes.
Describe Your Idea
medical services Optometric consultations, ophthalmology, general medicine, gynaecology, audiology, otorrinolaringology, clinical laboratory, odontology, ocular and auditive surgery, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids. Our main clients are people with limited resources who come from rural areas and larger metropolitan areas. Our products are delivered in a private clinic with a high level of technology and first class professionals but the prices are 70% lower than in the private sector. Money is not a problem in our clinic if the patient does not have any, and the same goes for social study, which is covered by a free service. The majority of our clients, however, are low cost patients and this has allowed us to be self-sufficient for the last 10 years. If somebody is ill and does not have the economic resources to resolve their problem then they have no quality of life. The impact caused by our institution not only reflects on our patients once they are returned to health but also on the market in general of our country that has lowered its prices in order to be competitive.
Innovation
Description of your products or services:
medical services Optometric consultations, ophthalmology, general medicine, gynaecology, audiology, otorrinolaringology, clinical laboratory, odontology, ocular and auditive surgery, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids. Our main clients are people with limited resources who come from rural areas and larger metropolitan areas. Our products are delivered in a private clinic with a high level of technology and first class professionals but the prices are 70% lower than in the private sector. Money is not a problem in our clinic if the patient does not have any, and the same goes for social study, which is covered by a free service. The majority of our clients, however, are low cost patients and this has allowed us to be self-sufficient for the last 10 years. If somebody is ill and does not have the economic resources to resolve their problem then they have no quality of life. The impact caused by our institution not only reflects on our patients once they are returned to health but also on the market in general of our country that has lowered its prices in order to be competitive.
Description of the operational model:
there are five clinics and a mobile unit that brings medical services to the whole country. The innovative idea consists in seeking out the patients in their own home through health promoters and that the prices are accessible to those who are in need and providing a high quality service through the use of cutting edge technology and adequate infrastructure. Exonerating people from the costs has turned into a solution for our population.
Impact
Description of the financial model:
Usually, patients pay for the services, price revisions are ongoing, a market study is carried out every six months, taking into account inflation, minimum salaries to ensure that the patients can access the products. The sources of finance are the resources brought to us by the patients, by the quality of the service, and in recent years people from all social levels have come to our clinic which in turn has allowed us to have a scale of prices tied in with the ability to pay. An interesting point is that those wha are able to pay for the services are indirectly helping those who cannot. ASEMBIS has been financially self-sustaining for the last 10 years. 95% of our budget is composed of resources brought in by patients and 5% comes from donations of money or in kind.
Client fees represent this approximate percentage of operational budget:
95%
Key operational partnership:
partnerships must be related to services and training ? Christoffel Blindenmissi?n Internacional (donations, training, conferences) ? IIMAS Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social, donations ? Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (services) ? Asesa (manages the odontology area of ASEMBIS). We do not have members other than voluntary associates on the directive board. In actual fact partnerships in our countries face difficulties when signing contracts with ASEMBIS from medical guilds: there is normally opposition from medical professionals who feel that their interests are being affected. The fact is that they have not analyzed the patients that we attend to who would not be potential patients to their surgeries/medical centres. On an international level, we still enjoy great success in the coordination and advice to other groups interested in replicating this concept.
Current outreach:
We are at the Scaling Up stage. The initiative is in the expansion stage, completing the outreach in our country and reproducing it at an international level.
How many clients have benefited from your product/service in total? Over the last year?:
350,000 clients per year
What percentage of your clients is below the poverty line ($2 per day)?
26%
What is the order of magnitude of the potential demand for your products or services? Which other low-income groups, countries or regions could benefit from it? Try to quantify (number of clients, market size in currency).
In Costa Rica there is a state social security system, but every day their services are ever more deficient and the demand for different health areas as a matter of priority are increasing. This phenomenon is not only visible in Costa Rica but the whole of Latin America. ASEMBIS is an exportable model to all of Latin America and I would put forward that it is globally viable as well.
Scale-up strategy:
How many low-income individuals do you plan to benefit in three years from now? How are you planning to scale up or replicate your solution? What are the major constraints to scale up?
In the next 3 years we're planning to benefit at least 450,000 low-income people.
Which specific areas - and why - in your field would benefit most from investment by corporations, foundations, and other investors:
Up to now, Asembis has control over all the branches. Work capital is necessary to open a clinic, but since attending the Pyramid Business Opportunities conference in Mexico, I would consider franchises as an option as they would allow for a faster scale up and would allow for people to succeed through their own businesses while perpetuating Asembis at the same time. We have never worked with franchises so one restraint would be our inexperience in this field, but with advisors and consultants we can get this project into shape
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
The organization: How does the initiative fit with your overall organization's strategic goals and priorities? How did the initiative start?
The initiative fits as the vision is to attend to the largest number of people with limited resources as possible and this would be a way to succeed in this endeavour with the utmost speed. The expansion of our model to other countries would be the culmination of our work.
Organization's legal status:
Non profit, NGO
Number of Employees:
160
 | 407 weeks ago High quality low cost medical services for people on low incomes. has been chosen as a finalist in How to Create Market-Based Strategies that Benefit Low-Income Communities. |
