2023-04-28 07:08:19
Juan José Lahuerta
Madrid (EFE).- Private sports medicine is booming. Its growth in recent years is indisputable. It has gained relevance and has made its way into society. Football clubs, athletics, basketball, handball, federations, elite athletes and ordinary fans take advantage of the quality of services that, in some cases, are ‘top’ worldwide.
Spain is growing and so is its sports medicine. The training of specialists is constantly evolving. They are developed to adapt to the needs of sport, which is increasingly established in society and more demanding among professionals. And hand in hand with research, technological advances in diagnosis, prevention and treatment of injuries also arrive.
Clinics such as CEMTRO, the University of Navarra, medical centers such as Olympia de Quirón or Ripoll and the Prado Sport Clinic, specialized in traumatology and orthopedic surgery, mark the step in the evolution of a medicine that is increasingly in demand and which is also health insurance is signed up to offer its services to the most sporty user.
But how do these institutions work? How do you organize to find excellence? There are three legs that support his search for growth: healthcare, research and teaching. Three key actions, which, as Dr. Pedro Luis Ripoll explained to EFE, are essential to gain momentum towards high-level accreditations such as the one held by his organization, declared a “Medical Center of Excellence” by FIFA.
International expansion and pursuit of excellence
In Spain, in addition to the Ripoll and the Prado Sport Clinic, only the CEMTRO Clinic and the FC Barcelona Medical Services have achieved this accreditation. They seem few, but they are many. Spain, with three medical-sports organizations, is the only country, along with the United States, Germany and Japan, that brings together three on a list of a total of 47 centers recognized by the organization chaired by Gianni Infantino.
“We seek excellence and as such we are accredited as a FIFA center of excellence. It’s hard to get it. Every five years it is compulsory to submit to FIFA a series of activities in all fields (assistance, research and teaching) at a level in order for your accreditation to be renewed. What we have been doing for many years is looking for the best specialists in the world to bring them to Spain, to our centers. They come and work here,” Dr. Ripoll told EFE.
His organization has ten offices distributed mainly along the Mediterranean coast up to Malaga with important offices in Madrid and Seville. And, right now, it is regarding to break through internationally. In the summer, it will begin its expansion towards the Arab countries, where they are going to set up headquarters. Dubai and Cairo will have Ripoll and Prado Sport Clinic centers. And there are advanced negotiations to open in Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
And it is that Spanish sports medicine brands are expanding internationally and are an example of work that attracts and generates talent: “Some of the best specialists in the world who have signed a contract with us work in our ten locations. In ankle is doctor Niek van Dijk; in tendon and muscles Dr. Lasse Lempaienen; Dr. Ricardo Casal on the hip; or the French doctor Reboul in pubic osteopathy. Our institution is distinguished by specialization. That is, there are specialized units in each joint. It has hired some of the best specialists in the world”, says Ripoll.
Top-level athletes, footballers from renowned Spanish clubs or from outside our borders such as Manchester United or Nottingham Forest seek the quality of centers such as Ripoll and the Prado Sport Clinic. But are not the only ones. The health excellence of this sports medical center, as in others, is also within the reach of ordinary citizens. In one year, they attend 40,000 consultations and operate on 2,000 patients thanks to the work of more than 200 professionals.
But not all patients are part of one of the four professional First and Second Division teams that are directly run by the Ripoll center and the Prado Sport Clinic, which together care for nearly 15,000 athletes. They also have their own insurance that allows 5,000 policies that benefit the citizen.
“Go to our center to have surgery, you can do it with an insurance of 50 euros per month. And Van Dijk operates on you. One of the obligations of the doctor is to make the benefits of medicine accessible to the entire population. That is implicit in the medical condition. That’s the way it is,” says Ripoll.
Feedback between public and private health
The development of new techniques and research not only benefits private medicine. Also to the public. In fact, many of the specialists who work in the private sphere also work in the public sphere. And the investigations of one and another sector feed back to benefit each other.
“The population has a sympathetic relationship with the development of sports medicine and surgery. Sports medicine, if the comparison is allowed, is like Formula One racing. Formula One engines and cars are tested and developed many highly advanced techniques from which the entire population later benefits”, comments Ripoll.
“It would be absurd for a clinic to dedicate itself solely to the care of athletes. We care for athletes, of course we do, but the population as a whole benefits from these advances that sports medicine requires because the deadlines and precision that occurs in this area are very demanding. This then carries over to a cousin who broke his shoulder,” he adds.
The relationship between citizens and elite athletes with the Ripoll center and the Prado Sport Clinic is not the only one. There are many more specialized institutions and this week the latest example of collaboration between an entity and a sports medical center was presented. HM Hospitales and the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation (RFEN) announced a collaboration agreement whereby the hospital group became the new “Official Medical Provider” of the federation.
From now on, HM Hospitales will be responsible for medical check-ups and health coverage for RFEN swimmers, water polo players and jumpers in all their specialties. Until April 2025, it will be in charge of all medical examinations prior to international competitions and will establish itself as a reference center for athletes. They will make their debut in July, when the World Cup in Fukuoka (Japan) will be held.
Like the rest of the sports medicine centers, HM Hospitales also try to attract talent. But, in addition, they believe it: “We are committed to training our own professionals. To this end, we have the HM Hospitales Biosanitary Professions Training Center to provide Intermediate and Higher Level training. We also have the HM Hospitales Faculty of Health Sciences of the Camilo José Cela University”, they inform EFE.
In addition, it has a commitment to research that addresses innovation and a commitment to cutting-edge technology that includes artificial intelligence data processing. And, as in other professional sectors, the competition is strong: “We are newcomers to the world of medical providers for sports federations. It is evident that each one tries to gain a foothold in the most effective way ”.
HM Hospitales joined a long list of institutions, centers and clinics that look following the health of elite and amateur athletes. Through research, teaching and an undeniable quality of care, private institutions have positioned themselves as an important part of the health of athletes. The ‘boom’ of these centers is here to stay. And surely, to grow even more.
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