Jorge Bado

"While working in the insurance industry a few years ago, Jorge Bado observed that medical insurance policy holders were largely uninformed or unfamiliar with the benefits and coverage afforded by their healthcare plans, and the data available tothem was confusing. This lack of transparency can lead a patient to visit several hospitals in an emergency situation before identifying the center which is covered bytheir plan. In order to empower policy holders, Bado created MapSalud (HealthMap), aweb platform and mobile app which offers precise healthcare policy services. Due tothe impact and importance of this project, Bado has been recognized as one of MIT Technology Review, Spanish edition´s Innovators Under 35 Peru 2016.

The platform came online in January, 2016, and the application has been live sinceJune. The young administrator feeds all of the information regarding healthcare plans provided by the providers to his web, and has designed an algorithm that interpretswhat the user is looking for. With a simple visit to MapSalud, policy holders can obtainthe information they need regarding their medical insurance: coverage details, themost highly recommended specialist, office hours, the most affordable clinic and thereputation of each center. The platform also includes testimonies from other users anda list of emergency contact numbers, and provides all of this information across healthcare providers.

MapSalud´s primary clients are insurance agents and corporate human resources departments. These clients provide the app to their employees to ensure their access to key information during accidents and emergency situations. MapSalud gathers the policy information and personalizes it for each company and employee. ""It is a customized service for each client and this delivers a very good user experience,"" Bado explains. ""Each user, with their first and last name, can see who is covered under their policy, how and when they are covered and where to call in case of an emergency oran accident,"" he adds.

Currently, MapSalud has 22,000 users from a total of 13 large corporations in Peru. In2017 another 13,000 users will join the app thanks to the deal which Bado has just signed with a telephone operator.

Bado´s next step is to expand into countries like Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador where problems with the accuracy and availability of this information are also common."