This year's edition of Barcelona New Economy Week (Bnew), the event on the new economy organized by the Barcelona Free Zone Consortium (CZFB) at the DFactory, expands its focus by addressing two more sectors: health and proptech, the digitalization of the real estate sector.
Without going any further, virtual tours that do not require an in-person visit to show properties for sale or rent starred in one of the round tables this Wednesday. “We save unnecessary visits, those who really have an interest come,” said Francesc Quintana, CEO of Vivendex, in a discussion moderated by Quino Fernández, co-founder of Aticcolab.
“There are all advantages, before we sold off plan,” said Carla Martínez, manager in Spain and Portugal of Habiteo and more focused on the marketing of new constructions. “We can visit the site and show what the building will be like,” Martínez added about augmented reality.
During the presentation, some obstacles also came to the fore, such as that smaller real estate companies have more complicated digitalization. “What the client wants is to centralize all the technology,” said Jaime Flores, co-founder of Jotavirtual. “Procedures in contracting should be simplified,” added Ezequiel Vallejo, director of Lodging Apartments.
Another debate addressed the impact of telemedicine on the health system. According to a study carried out by Barcelona Health Hub and the Chamber of Barcelona, it would save 452 million euros if it is implemented throughout Catalonia and 117 million if it is extended throughout rural areas. “The report sets a course for a sustainable system,” said Ricard Castellet, head of digital transformation at Gebro Pharma laboratories and moderator. “The health sector is one of those that incorporates technological variations later,” said Xavier Lleixa, co-founder of Digimevo.
For Rat Gasol, from Onalabs, digitalization should not be understood as an “enemy” of traditional medicine and can serve to “improve care” with elements such as monitoring. “Advances occur when engineers and doctors work together,” said David Campos, member of Science4tech.
Tomás Torres, medical director of Clínica Tres Torres, ended the debate. Without opposing innovation, he recalled that “people want to go to consultations because they like contact with the doctor.”
