{"id":29799,"date":"2021-07-06T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/noticias\/these-are-the-new-business-models-that-have-accepted-the-challenges-of-covid-19\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T13:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:09:05","slug":"these-are-the-new-business-models-that-have-accepted-the-challenges-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/en\/news\/these-are-the-new-business-models-that-have-accepted-the-challenges-of-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"These are the new business models that have accepted the challenges of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COVID-19 has generated profound changes in the world of healthcare and in the business models that orbit around it. The WHO already predicted in May 2020 that the pandemic would affect the longevity<\/a> and life expectancy statistics, data that the CSIC and the INE<\/a> corroborated shortly after.But this health emergency has also allocated more resources to R+D+i. <\/a>And this is seen in new business initiatives, which are not only focused on helping us age later, but also on aging better and fully enjoying that last stage.<\/strong> One that, thanks to medical advances and the quality of life we have, is getting longer and longer. <\/p>\n\n

COVID-19 reduces longevity, but boosts research.<\/h2>\n\n

According to the Daily Mortality Monitoring System <\/a>(MoMo), the pandemic reduces life expectancy<\/strong> by about 0.5 to 0.7 years (\u22120.8%) and life expectancy from the age of 65 by about 0.4 to 0.5 years (\u22122.6%). Interestingly, this and other complicated data have led to rapid growth in investment in medical research<\/a> .And from these funds arise initiatives <\/strong>and projects that not only hope to alleviate this ‘drastic’ decline, but also try to propose new business models that increase (even more) increasing longevity.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

‘Train’ longevity to be able to enjoy it.<\/h2>\n\n

The number of years you live with good quality does not grow as fast as the number of years you live, simply. Until the age of 60 or 65 it is common to live without serious limitations, but after that date it is exceptionally complicated. Part of the problem lies in many decades without healthy habits.<\/strong> That is why Spanish startups such as Rosita<\/a> work as a ‘longevity coach’ for adults to implement routines that increase their well-being. Through a mobile application, a series of basic training exercises are proposed. The most curious thing is how muscle functionality is classified, through questions such as “Can you comb your hair or wash your head without pain?”. These types of virtual coaches are entering the market and are still an emerging business. It is expected that in the future they will specialize and generate completely individualized training. After COVID-19, this type of functionality will be more in demand, especially if you have suffered some functional deterioration due to infection or confinement. <\/p>\n\n

This is how total monitoring works in hospitals.<\/h2>\n\n

Hospital staff had a hard time during 2020, when these centers reached the maximum number of patients they could treat and even had peaks that exceeded this capacity. During the pandemic <\/g>, all kinds of applications and gadgets emerged to monitor patients.One of them is Atlas<\/g>, an application whose objective was to prevent COVID-19 infections in hospitals, where manual tracing <\/g>has proven unfeasible. Atlas belongs to a generation of applications called ‘real-time traceability solutions’ (RTLS for Real Time Location Systems) and works by constantly reading patients’ wristbands and the mobile phones of other healthcare colleagues. In a sense, it works like Radar Covid<\/a>, sharing encrypted information <\/strong>in a way that protects data. The interesting thing about this type of application is that they are not only useful in hospital work peaks or pandemics. Detecting an outbreak of legionella or the start of a flu is easier with them, and they protect the identity of the user and professional at all times. <\/p>\n\n

Home care, a booming business<\/h2>\n\n

The home care<\/strong> business is not new, but it is in full transformation and growth. The CSIC says in its report ‘The ageing of the population’<\/a> that we have one of the oldest populations on the planet. As we age, home care <\/a>becomes essential. That is why companies such as Cuideo<\/a>, which specialises in home care, or Helpycare<\/a>, which operates as a franchised placement agency, have considerable room for growth. This business model has a double aspect: connecting caregivers with domestic employees (B2C), and transmitting the company’s know-how as the sector is expanding (B2B). <\/p>\n\n

New models in nursing homes<\/h2>\n\n

An alternative to home care, which requires moving staff home, is to move home to an environment where care is a basic component. This is the sector of residences for the elderly, <\/strong>which according to the consulting firm PwD<\/a> in Spain 41% are privately owned in different modalities, and 34% are subsidized.However, according to the report ‘Longevity’, by the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, 90% of the elderly prefer to age at home and not in a nursing home. At least not one like those that predominate today. Something not always possible due to the lack of autonomy of the elderly.Due to the age of the population in nursing homes, COVID-19 has had a serious impact on them. If before the pandemic nursing homes were multifunctional environments with activities and care, now innovation aims to design residences more similar to neighbourhood communities than hospital environments. The official term is senior housing, and developers such as Aedas Homes <\/g>are already working in this segment. The idea is that retirement buildings more similar to traditional homes are designed and built. <\/p>\n\n

Artificial intelligence and voice to help older people<\/h2>\n\n

Care for the elderly<\/strong> is an increasingly frequent activity of integrated health systems. Both home visits and telecare<\/a>, which she usually calls from time to time to ask how they are and talk, are basic tools that help alleviate loneliness.A few years ago, the Spanish startup Tucuvi, with whom we had the opportunity to talk a few days ago<\/a>, began to develop its ‘virtual caregiver’. Making use of artificial intelligence and voice technology (both in speech recognition and synthesizer), it follows up with older people with automated calls.During the pandemic, and especially during the lockdown, part of the national health system collapsed by focusing on the health emergency. That left many seniors without emotional support as call centers focused on reporting COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n

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