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For the healthcare industry in LatAm, Osigu is a bright light in a sea of inefficiency

Riley Kaminer
Riley Kaminer
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By Riley Kaminer

Healthcare across Latin America is notoriously complex, made up of a web of public, private, and hybrid systems that ultimately lead to uneven coverage and outcomes.

As the CEO of Miami-based healthtech startup Osigu, Fernando Botrán is intimately aware of this situation and is committed to improving healthcare delivery across the region through the use of technology.

“In Latin America, roughly 10% of hospital admissions are due to prescribing errors,” he told Refresh Miami. “45% of these prescribing errors are due to a bad drug interaction.”

This is exactly the kind of straightforward, preventable problem that creates bottlenecks in the healthcare space. Luckily, it’s also the exact kind of problem Osigu helps solve.

Since being founded around seven years ago, Osigu has developed a suite of digital products to bring the Latin American healthcare industry into the 21st century. This includes a SaaS platform for claims management and revenue cycles, a system for electronic healthcare records (EHR), and ePrescription software. 

Osigu is also experimenting with integrating artificial intelligence tools into their platform. Its first foray into the space is plugging ChatGPT into its EHR. “Many gaps can be filled with AI,” said Botrán. In the case of the prescribing errors, the idea is that Osigu’s system could guide doctors in real time and warn them if there is an interaction for a drug that they have prescribed. 

“We’ve got an aggressive roadmap for the next 12 to 18 months on how we can launch new features and adopt AI interactivity to the products we have today,” Botrán shared.

In March, Osigu acquired Servinte, a major EHR and healthcare administration software provider in Colombia. Botrán explained that the main motivation for the acquisition was to enable the company to more rapidly grow into the Colombian market. “Once we started talking to them, we realized that we had lots of synergies.” Osigu’s advanced tech stack plus Servinte’s 22 years of experience in the Colombian market made for a perfect match. 

Now, the company has operations in Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Spain, and Colombia. From 2021 to 2022, Osigu had a 330% increase in its annual growth rate. Its platform has handled upwards of two million transactions to date.

For Botrán, this is just the beginning. “In Latin America, healthcare is a huge, huge market,” he said. “No one is consolidating this fragmented market, which is mostly small- and medium-sized, old school software companies.” Botrán hinted that we might see Osigu make similar acquisitions in the near future to further fuel its growth.

Two of Osigu’s 165 employees are based in Miami. But make no mistake: the Magic City plays an important role in Osigu’s growth. Botrán moved to Miami from Madrid three years ago and called the move one of the best decisions he’s made. IDC Ventures, the VC that led Osigu’s $7.5 million fundraise and has a major presence in Madrid, is also doubling down on its Miami footprint.

“We have operations in different countries in Latin America, so I felt like we needed to be based in a place that is connected to all countries,” asserted Osigu. “Miami, as the capital of Latin America, is the best place to be.” 

Osigu has operations in Colombia, shown here, Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Spain.

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