MEDPLACE is the first and only healthcare staffing platform for Latin America that connects Clinics, Hospitals and Health Centres with healthcare technicians at the click of a button. After only 18 months of operation, MEDPLACE has a community of 20,000 professionals and technicians accredited by the Superintendence of Health and a network of 15 open and closed care providers, both public and private, who have already been able to execute more than 20,000 appointments with a coverage of 98%. How was Medplace born? Like all start-ups, MEDPLACE was born from the concern of its founder and CEO, Francisco Ramirez, who after working for more than 12 years as People Manager of the hospital segment of the Banmédica network, decided to become independent in order to create an APP that could solve the dramatic problem that public and private hospitals face on a daily basis in order to cover clinical shifts. ‘The level of absenteeism in the clinical area has always been very high, but during the pandemic and then with the social outbreak, the rate of absenteeism reached unaffordable levels: one month of medical leave per person hired,’ says Ramirez. Clearly the figures are scandalous, but the terrible thing is that in parallel there are thousands of professionals and technicians who are willing to work and who are just waiting for an opportunity. And that is the point of MEDPLACE. ‘We want to connect healthcare providers with the professionals and technicians who want and need to work and offer greater efficiencies, control overtime spending and timeliness in the recruitment process and shift coverage because Medplace makes it possible to find replacements in a matter of minutes. The team Once the founder had a clear idea of what he wanted, he invited his good friend Kevin Quiero, a computer engineer from USM and CEO of NCAS, with whom he partnered and entrusted the development of the APP. Then they added to the board Carlos Millán, who supports in strategic planning and expansion plan; Mauricio González in charge of the Marketing area and Ana María Acevedo, who leads the commercial management of Medplace. New products Along with consolidating MEDPLACE’s participation in the national market, during this 2024, it has developed new products that contemplate the operation of the APP in a closed community environment, called MEDPLACE – GMI (Internal Mobility Management), which is already working for a health group that brings together 3 clinics. Access to a community of qualified professionals and technicians in an agile manner in minutes. Leverages the base of trained and oriented professionals offering quality care and improving the patient experience in these centres. Acknowledgements During 2023, MEDPLACE ventured into the world of start-up accelerators, achieving important recognition from Startup Chile by Corfo, Emprelatam and Draper, the latter allowing its CEO Francisco Ramirez to participate in a six-week training program at Draper University in Silicon Valley along with other entrepreneurs from all over the world. Expansion Plan After analysing the possibilities of growth in LATAM and associating with a strategic partner in Brazil, MEDPLACE is about to start operations in Sao Paulo with IMED Group, thus consolidating the first stage of its expansion plan, which also includes opening operations in Peru and Colombia within two years.