Grupo Santa María: An Example of Successful Digitalization in the Healthcare Sector
Grupo Santa María has 45 branches, 25 of which offer imaging services: X-rays, mammograms, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, and bone densitometries. Since implementing Eden PACS, the group has been able to care for more than 25,000 patients and, in under 6 months, expand with 5 new branches.
With more than 40 years of experience, Grupo Santa María is considered one of the most important medical centers in the central region of Mexico, with a presence in the states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Estado de México.
"The installation process for Eva stands out: fast and straightforward. We managed to install 7 units in a single day, which allowed us to immediately start operations with the new modalities we had invested in."
says General Director Eddy Riquelme.
Just 5 months into its relationship with Eden, Grupo Santa María made a significant leap toward digitalization in 2022, with the goal of providing the most innovative service to its patients.
Here's the story of how fast, simple transformation is possible when every party pursues the same goal: giving the patient the best possible experience.
From the start, the goal was clear: evolve toward a more digitalized and efficient operation. They looked for a tool that would first meet their need for an advanced DICOM viewer for their radiology studies: X-rays, mammograms, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, and bone densitometries. And later, a tool that would help them keep expanding across the region.
"Eden PACS is a very user-friendly platform; our radiologists are very satisfied with its adoption. We can look up information easily and send it at any time."
Eddy Riquelme, General Director.
In Eden, they found the ideal solution: a platform that offered them greater flexibility to add different types of users across all 45 branches (25 of which offer imaging services), and many more advanced medical-grade features such as multiplanar reconstruction and 3D reconstruction to obtain reliable, faster-loading readings, without sacrificing the level of visual quality.
In the first month after implementing Eden PACS, Grupo Santa María processed 950 studies. By its third month of operation, that volume had grown sevenfold, reaching 7,000 studies per month on the platform.
In addition to imaging, they specialize in laboratory studies: thyroid panels, tests for diabetic patients, checkups that include complete blood counts and urinalysis, and all routine tests.
By implementing cutting-edge technologies, including Eden PACS, they multiplied their monthly study volume sevenfold in just 3 months, going from 950 to just over 7,000 studies per month. Moreover, to date they have opened more than 5 new branches and reached a total of more than 25,000 patients with Eden PACS.
Grupo Santa María has a clear growth strategy in units and equipment: it is investing aggressively in new equipment, such as a next-generation MRI scanner with breast and cardiac coils, among others, as well as various imaging equipment for both current and new units, primarily CT, X-ray, and ultrasound.
Across all its branches, more than 6,000 studies were performed monthly, a volume that clearly falls short compared to the new figures. Great things are therefore projected for 2023.
These major advances demonstrate the complete success and radical growth that can be achieved by integrating Eden PACS into a medical application ecosystem.
How a Successful and Fruitful Alliance with Eden Was Achieved
Aligned from the ground up in values, Eden and Santa María have shared the most important goals, focusing on the end customer experience as the top priority:
- Kind, respectful, and empathetic service
- Technological innovation for reliable results
- Teamwork and a spirit of solidarity
- Safeguarding the well-being of the entire community
According to the director of Grupo Santa María, the main benefits of Eden are:
- Reliability. Not a single incident or technical failure. Being reliable is essential in the medical sector.
- Technological innovation. It is a user-friendly viewer that works perfectly at all times.
- Flexibility. With the new product updates, all administration will become simple and easy, unlike the complex data and information management problems they face today.
In summary, the Grupo Santa María case confirms that technology is nothing without the right vision and attitude. When a laboratory sets out a solid growth strategy and a clear digitalization plan, the results of a commercial and technological alliance like the one they have with Eden will be far more notable and will bear fruit from the very first day of use.