The world of medicine is experiencing an unprecedented transformation. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digitisation and a number of different technologies are making an impression on this field, with solutions to improve both diagnosis and treatment. On the occasion of World Health Day, we're taking a close look at this wave of entrepreneurship to find out which trends and advances are leading the way in this sector.

The pandemic has been one of the greatest health crises in recorded history. Thanks to rapid advances in science and technology, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. Major vaccination efforts are currently underway to immunize the world's population. According to data from health authorities compiled by Our World in Data, 39.7% of the world's population has received at least one dose, while, as of today, almost 2.1 billion people across the globe are fully vaccinated.

Vicente Larraga, research professor at the Vaccines and Gene Expression Unit of CSIC Biological Research Center, participated in a videoconference for BBVA employees, where he answered their questions about current vaccines against COVID-19. Larraga is a doctor and honorary professor of research at the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center and has been a member of the jury for the BBVA Foundation's Frontiers of Knowledge awards.

Yesil Science was created with the objective of developing innovative solutions to healthcare, combining medicine, art, and technology. In addition, it is a company that has participated in the Garanti BBVA Partners program.

In an interview published by the financial newspaper Expansión, BBVA’s CEO explains what the coronavirus crisis has been like for him, and how the bank has adapted its operations to continue providing customers the same service. “It is very rewarding to see how our teams have adjusted to the challenges posed by this scenario,” he said. Onur Genç thinks the crisis is going to have a major impact on the economy and businesses, and that now is the time  "when we - the banks – need to stand by our customers more than ever before, and be part of the solution to this crisis."

Egon Zehnder, a global consulting firm, is holding a round of digital meetings with CEOs of banks around the world to hear about their strategies to navigate the COVID-19 crisis and their insights into unprecedented situation. During a meeting held on April 4, BBVA CEO Onur Genç detailed the Group's priorities in the face of the health emergency caused by COVID-19: safeguarding customer and employee health and continuing to deliver its services and supporting customers.

As part of Turkey’s national solidarity campaign, BBVA’s franchise will donate 200 ventilators to the Turkish Ministry of Health.

At the end of 2019, when the first cases of COVID-19 began to be detected in China, a lockdown seemed like a remote scenario. Four months later, isolation and social distancing have emerged as the most effective measures to stop the virus from spreading, forcing more than 3.6 billion people around the world to isolate themselves in their homes.

Since the start of the COVID outbreak, a plethora of mobile data collection applications have been developed to help users to report their symptoms and track the disease. In countries like South Korea these 'apps' have gone even further and provide authorities with the ability to alert users when they’ve been in direct contact with a confirmed positive case. In this article we take a look at how these applications work, what they are for and how they handle user information.

Scientific information, and many essential niche concepts to tackle it, have lept into the spotlight. Understanding certain key scientific concepts behind the battle against COVID-19 and how SARS-CoV-2’s biological mechanisms actually work will allow us to navigate in the sea of information to better gauge the scope of the problem and the prospects concerning the development of potential treatments.

On Monday, the Country Manager of BBVA in Spain, Peio Belausteguigoitia, held a virtual meeting with the team from bank’s entire business area in Spain (more than 20,000 people) to offer support and update them on the bank’s current situation. The director reported that the bank has managed to adapt to the new situation in record time.

Saving lives and preventing the collapse of intensive care units (ICUs). That is the priority for Spanish hospitals (and those around the world) during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report by the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid, which analyzed one of the non-invasive ventilators from China (Yuwell 730), concludes that “its use is expected to delay or even prevent the need to transfer patients to the ICU, and therefore help to relieve their saturation.”

Lending institutions belonging to the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) and the Spanish Federation of Savings Banks (CECA) are joining forces to announce a new voluntary measure to help mortgage customers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a statement from both entities. People with a mortgage on their first home who are affected economically by the coronavirus outbreak may apply for a deferral of up to 12 months in the capital repayment. Likewise, principal repayments on personal consumer loans are to be deferred for up to six months. This means that these customers will only pay the interests on the mortgage loan, which will reduce considerably the amount they were paying until now.

Thanks to initiatives by BBVA employees, the bank has donated 175 external cell phone batteries to the new IFEMA hospital and 210 blankets to the Alcalá de Henares hospital, both in Madrid.

BBVA’s has increased its initial €25 million commitment to €35 million to be used in to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the countries within its operating footprint. BBVA Group Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila recently explained that the bank must “step up” and use everything in its power and all its resources “to save lives, alleviate the economic impact, and help others overcome these difficult times.”

Garanti BBVA has put 10 million Turkish lira (approximately €1.4 million) into a fund to support public hospitals as they contend with the coronavirus pandemic. The money has been earmarked to address the most urgent needs of health care workers.

The Group is to donate €25 million to combat the coronavirus outbreak across its footprint. This week, BBVA will deliver an initial batch of medical equipment, respirators and surgical masks, worth approximately €3 million to Spanish health officials.

BBVA is lighting its corporate headquarters in Madrid as a symbol of its support for the professionals who are fighting day in and day out against coronavirus.

BBVA is operating as normal after activating additional measures on Tuesday following the recommendations made by the Ministry of Health and the Madrid and Basque regional governments, and after an employee at the bank’s Madrid headquarters tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). Following this positive case, the bank has closed the area where the employee worked, as well as some common spaces as a preventive measure. The rest of the bank’s facilities are operating as normal.

The American Heart Association (AHA) yesterday named BBVA USA to its 2019 Workplace Health Achievement Index, a comprehensive annual survey that uses science-based and evidence-informed methods to evaluate the overall effectiveness of workplace health programs across the nation.

Univfy®, an AI platform company whose mission is to improve fertility patients’ experience and access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), announced today a collaboration with BBVA USA, the U.S. subsidiary of global financial institution BBVA, to offer a finance program with rates starting at 0% APR (up to 18.99%).

For Professor Kevin Warwick, a cybernetics expert and Emeritus Professor at Coventry and Reading Universities, the future of humans is literally tied to artificial intelligence, with technologies that will allow us to link our brains to machines to augment our physical and mental abilities. He recently sat down for an interview with OpenMind, BBVA's knowledge community, to share some of his insights into this fascinating topic.

Infectious diseases, high maternal and neonatal mortality rates, illness and ineffective reproductive and sexual health are some of the problems plaguing many places in the world. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number three “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people at all ages”, seeks to address these and other health-related challenges. BBVA also strives to promote initiatives in its field to achieve SDG 3, especially through the work of the BBVA Foundation.

The American Heart Association recently announced the results of its 2018 Workplace Health Achievement Index, a comprehensive annual survey that uses science-based and evidence-informed methods to evaluate the overall effectiveness of workplace health programs across the nation.