EPISODE 47: SAMIR QAMAR, CEO AT MEDWAND

Dr. ​M. Samir​ Qamar​ is the CEO of MedWand, a telehealth technology company. Dr. Qamar invented the award-winning MedWand, a medical device that​ allows clinicians to examine patients over the Internet on smartphones and computers. The handheld MedWand​ advances the telemedicine industry by allowing clinicians​ to remotely obtain real-time vitals, auscultate heart and lungs, look into ears and throats, obtain EKGs, and monitor chronic conditions during video visits. Dr. Qamar has been on the company's board since co-founding the company and is also its chairman.


​Dr. Qamar completed his medical training at Penn Medicine - Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s first and top-ranked primary care residency programs. His visions on the future of primary care have been referenced in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, Forbes, and Time. Dr. Qamar is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and several other organizations. He speaks six languages, has studied and practiced in health care systems worldwide, and currently resides in​ Las Vegas,​ Nevada where he also maintains an active medical practice.

Episode’s transcript

Julio Martinez: 0:00

Welcome to the Latin MedTech Leaders podcast, a conversation with MedTech leaders who have succeeded or plan to succeed in Latin America. Please subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast. Amazon Music is teacher Tune in iHeart Radio, Pandora or Deezer . Welcome back to the La MedTech Leaders Podcast. Today our guest is Dr. Samir Kumar. Dr. Kumar is the CEO of Med one . In 2014, after working with Google on telemedicine projects, Samir found a team of medical engineers and invented the med one to provide what he thought was the missing link in telemedicine physical exams. Prior to met one , Samir was one of the pioneering minds behind the rapidly rising direct primary care DPC industry. Samir completed his medical training at University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine, Lancaster General Hospital, one of the top franked primary care residencies in the United States. Samir , welcome to the show. It's really a pleasure to have you here today.

Samir Qamar: 1:05

Thank you. Julio Pleasure's mine.

Julio Martinez: 1:08

Awesome , Samir . So I usually start our interviews here in the podcast with a basic question. How do you get involved with Latin America in on a personal or professional , uh, level? Uh , tell us your story with the region.

Samir Qamar: 1:22

Sure. Uh, so I was fortunate enough to be raised around the world. My father was a senior diplomat for the United Nations and we lived in many countries , uh, never in Latin America because my father didn't speak Spanish , uh, or Portuguese. But we live in Europe, in the Caribbean, in Asia , uh, and so forth. And so my schooling throughout my life was very international as well. And even though I didn't live in any Latin American countries, I had lots of friends who were from Latin America. There were expats children who used to attend schooling with me internationally. So that was my first real exposure to , um, Latin Americans. And then as I got older and traveled a bit more, I did have opportunities to go to Peru, to Brazil, to Argentina, was an eye-opening experience for me. I think like most people who have been raised in the us uh, in my case it was international, but I'm settled here in the us Latin America is often I think , um, confused with Central America in terms of its , uh, advancement of society and so forth. And so I was very happy to visit. It's , uh, become one of my new favorite places in the world now to explore. That has led to opportunities in business for us as we'll talk about. But very excited to , uh, launch our company's ventures in, in Latin America soon.

Julio Martinez: 2:55

Fantastic Samir . I'm so glad to hear that we're in the Caribbean, by the way. You've lived,

Samir Qamar: 3:00

So Yeah, I lived in the island of Dominica.

Julio Martinez: 3:02

Dominica. Okay. Very few people know about that Island <laugh>.

Samir Qamar: 3:07

That's right. It's in the West Indies. Uh, I actually met my wife there, so I have some deep ties to the island of Dominica. I have been all over the West Indies , uh, as a tourist to St . Martin and I speak French. So I went to all this French speaking countries as well to Haiti on medical missions , uh, as a physician and so forth. So I've been an extensive traveling. I've been to almost a hundred countries , uh, in my life so far. So it's, it's a small world for me .

Julio Martinez: 3:36

Yeah, yeah. If you speak French, Spanish should be relatively easy for you to understand and to kind of interact with in a business level.

Samir Qamar: 3:43

<laugh>. Absolutely. I think the second language in America now is Spanish and we have many patients , uh, who speak only Spanish and we have to learn a little bit of medical Spanish, but I also speak Italian , uh, not as clearly as French, but I picked them up because of the similar dialect and similar grammar rules for instance. So yes, I do speak a little, very little Spanish.

Julio Martinez: 4:08

Yeah, there are romance languages and they share a lot of , uh, grammar rules and Latin words , et cetera . Alright , Samir , so let's dig into your perception of Latin America as a place to do business. Let's talk about what trends you see happening in the region based on your readings of the news or talking to colleagues, what trends you see from the epidemiological economic, political, social areas that you think are beneficial for the business of selling medical technologies.

Samir Qamar: 4:41

Yeah, so we at Med Wand , uh, manufacture a very unique type of medical device, and I have it right here. In fact, it's about the size of a computer mouse and it is meant to examine patients over the internet during telemedicine video visits. And that's, that's what Med one does. It's our core product. So with respect to healthcare and technology and that blend , I think Latin America presents to us tremendous opportunity. A medicine and medical care in general is valued in Latin America from a cultural standpoint. Number two , uh, there have been advancements in technology, whether it's broadband or smartphone access, so forth in Latin America where our device is meeting that intercession with technology. So telemedicine as a whole, as an industry is, I wouldn't say a clean slate , uh, where we can come in and produce infrastructure because Latin America has already dabbled in telemedicine, maybe not so much as the level of the US of course, or Europe, but it's done it . In fact , Chile is much more advanced than for instance some of the other countries in Latin America with telemedicine. So it's an opportunity for us as a telemedicine medical technology company to go in and really put strong roots into Latin America with our technology in an effort to advance telemedicine infrastructure throughout Latin America. I think one of the biggest factors that is important in Latin American commerce, not just unique to us but to all commerce, is the singular language. You know , it's spoken everywhere with the exception of Brazil of course. But that is a huge benefit and we believe that there is just immense potential for telemedicine to explode in Latin America if we can circumvent a few challenges.

Julio Martinez: 6:55

Yes. And, and the regulation is changing in the region is adapting to the new times and the pandemic forced many countries to adapt . Right. So what do you think about Latin America as a place culturally speaking? I mean, do you like the culture? Do you like the people? What do you think about that?

Samir Qamar: 7:15

Julio, I don't know anyone who does not like Latin American culture and I truly mean that. It's true. Some of the most historic civilizations in the world came from Central America and from South America. I've done a lot of traveling in those places as well. The culture's fantastic. The people are warm. There's a very high regard for healthcare in those places and absolutely it's a quarter of the world's hospitals are in Latin America, for instance. So we are very , um, excited about the prospect of working in Latin America. It's one of the biggest continents in the world and it's an opportunity for anyone really to expand their business horizons. And so it is the same for us and we are excited.

Julio Martinez: 8:03

I'm very glad to hear that. Excellent. Alright , uh, Samir , let's talk about your strategy in Latin America about what you're planning to accomplish in the region. Do you have any countries in mind that you want to target and why?

Samir Qamar: 8:18

That's a good question, Julio. You know, for us, we're in the business of healthcare and human beings are human beings, whether they're in Mexico, whether they're in Brazil, whether they're in Argentina, our objective is to advance healthcare wherever we can using our technology. Med wand was created to eliminate geographic borders when it came to provision of healthcare. And that's important because there are borders, borders that we should be proud of from a nationalistic standpoint. But when it comes to healthcare, those borders don't mean much because you know, if a doctor is taking care of a patient, we don't ask them what country they're from. We just want to take care of them . And so we have an opportunity and we have interest from within Latin America to come and help expand telemedicine efforts. No one country in particular, we have, I can share, I've been approached by institutions that have interests in multiple Latin American countries, whether it's Central America or South America. And we uh, don't discriminate when it comes to healthcare wherever it is. It could be south or the north and so forth. So we are looking at some countries I can share with you that have dabbled , uh, extensively in telemedicine and we are also looking for opportunities in those places that have not yet been exposed to telemedicine or are still uncomfortable with telemedicine because it's an opportunity for us to help plant the seeds. So yes, we have solid opportunities that have emerged, especially since the pandemic because of the, the adoption of telemedicine, not by choice but by no choice. Uh , and so those opportunities are coming to fruition now.

Julio Martinez: 10:15

Okay. So I understand , um, from our prior conversations , um, or email exchanges , uh, that there are distributors who have already indirect users who have knock on your door. Can you talk a little bit about that, where they're coming from, their profile, et cetera ?

Samir Qamar: 10:34

Yes, I can. So , um, without being able to go into specifics , uh, we are in agreements with some of these institutions, but some of them I can share with you are actually using our technology right now in Mexico, parts of the Caribbean, it's already being used, it's being implemented into their infrastructure so they can get used to it and so forth. That is being done on a trial basis right now. So we could use med one in those areas and see how people would respond, how providers would respond. And it's been met with a lot of success . I would say those efforts will be used as launching pads to enter into the rest of Latin America. We have, as part of our software package that comes with med wand , we also have Spanish that is going to be dominating the software side of that as well. And for the Brazilians Portuguese as well. So there is a lot of work right now that's taking place behind the scenes , uh, in places like Mexico and parts of the Caribbean in an effort to launch into the rest of Latin America. We do have a couple of distributors who have expressed an interest in helping to promote med wand and our technology throughout Latin America as well, again without limiting borders. So we're excited at the prospects, especially with what we believe and what our distributors believe will be the explosive growth of telemedicine coming down the road. I can share with you that the USA is probably most advanced when it comes to telemedicine adoption infrastructure, even a cultural adoption perhaps I would say Europe is at a distant second. And you will I think, find some benefit in looking at some of the challenges that the US faced during its journey with telemedicine and maybe what Europe is going through right now. It's almost like you can forecast the same challenges for Latin America taking into account of course cultural issues. And I'm talking about technology barriers, I'm talking about comfort with not having to see a physician or a nurse up close and personal where they can actually touch you. Having faith in the technology adopting a new mindset, the actual technology itself, whether it's broadband to reach remote areas because many remote areas don't have yet Internet access, for instance payers and incentives on the doctor side, patient side, insurance administrators. And then of course you have rules that have to sometimes be changed to keep up with new technology. And the example I can give you is , for instance, you have all of these borders between countries, which is of course a given, but you will also get doctors in maybe Argentina who will be treating patients maybe in Ecuador and what are the laws that dictate medical practice across borders even across provinces or states like we have here in the us . So all of those things that we have faced in the US and in Europe, those same challenges are eventually going to come up in Latin America. And it's interesting to see how that's going happen.

Julio Martinez: 14:03

Great point. Great point. That is related to what I mentioned Samir about governments in Latin America adapting to the new way of practicing medicine, which incorporates technology and the laws were that really there to support something like telemedicine. Imagine having a virtual clinic just something that doesn't really exist in the mindset of a typical Latin American country in the government of a American country. In the case of Columbia where I'm from just recently in 2018 19 there was a new law and you can only do telemedicine if you are an advisor. You cannot diagnose or anything on a virtual only platform. In other words, they are protecting the business so to speak, of the establishment or the established, I should say, clinics and hospitals because imagine you investing all these money and time and resources building a clinic, building an actual brick and mortar clinic and then somebody comes with a few computers and and an internet connection and can set up a similar clinic probably with a higher reach than you have. So the government has to slowly adapt to that. I think that's a trend that's starting to happen in Latin America and what I see at least in Columbia is that you have the established institutions, established clinics, hospitals and clinics setting up telemedicine programs with their own technology in-house, developing house or uh , outsource anyway . But that is their brand, is their infrastructure for telemedicine to reach their patients. And you have 20,000 similar infrastructures like that just to reach their own patients. You don't have what you have now in the US and I'm sure in Europe too is virtual only clinics like I've seen in the US for example. Mental health is an area where you don't need a brick and model hospital infrastructure, you don't need a building or you need is just computers and people in a call center just taking calls and talking to patients, et cetera. So it's a very interesting , uh, dynamic or is interesting times , uh, of change in Latin America.

Samir Qamar: 16:34

Absolutely. You know Julio , you have many interests in medical practice in general. You have of course the main parties are the patients and then there are the doctors or the nurses. You also have insurance payers in the mix. You have government that has to come in as well and make some rules to protect the public as well. But again, I go back to looking at the US as an example, almost like a timeline. You have a glimpse into the future in Latin America as to the same challenges that are gonna come up and you have a chance now to see how it's been done in other places so that we can also meet those challenges a bit more aggressively. 'cause when you don't know in the US which was one of the leaders in telemedicine, we we're still by the way trying to carve out the path for telemedicine here. I think one of the biggest issues as well is how telemedicine is viewed across the industry in general . And it's one of the reasons I helped start med wand and invented med this device. And that is because the way you and I can see each other on video chat is exactly how telemedicine had been defined. But I can tell you every single doctor in the world, whether they are from the US or from anywhere in Latin America, they can't even graduate from medical school without knowing how to conduct a physical exam. Most patients expect their temperature to be taken. For instance, if they have a fever, they expect the doctor to take a look outside their throat if they have a sore throat or listen to their lungs if they have a cough. But in telemedicine that didn't happen and that bothered me. I, I felt that there was a double standard happening where in the clinical bricks and mortar settings you were expected to be examined. But in telemedicine that expectation was not important and I don't like double standards, especially as a physician and when it comes to healthcare. So we sought to produce a device that would equalize telemedicine as much as possible to real world practice. One of my theories, Julio, is that telemedicine as an industry won't be embraced until we can get as close in virtual care as we can to in-person care. And there are several components to that. There's the storytelling, what we call history taking in medicine where you sit down across from me and tell me what's wrong. There's the examination phase where I say, Julio, okay please get up on the table and let me listen to your heart, your lungs get your vitals. Then there's the testing phase where I may want to get an EKG or a blood test. And then finally the fourth step is treatment delivery where I do a prescription for a medication and you take that and you see bits and pieces of that in the telemedicine world, but it hasn't really been replicated exactly as it is in the real world. And as soon as someone can do that or someone can take the pieces and put them together in a cohesive virtual care environment, you're going to see telemedicine explode. And Med Oneand was created to get vitals and to actually examine patients. And you know, one of the reasons in Columbia you mentioned that rule which was passed is because these types of tools right now hardly exist and you can actually now have a real medical visit where a doctor can examine you and it's not guessing whether it's an external ear infection or internal ear infection. The doctor can actually take a look inside from a thousand miles away. One of the other things that you touched on was challenging the existing clinical establishment that still happens in the US and it's slowly starting to uh, erode. Uh , where say doctors in Florida may be afraid of losing patients to doctors in Illinois because someone's sitting at their computer like I am and examining their own patients. The same thing will happen in Latin America as well, specifically Columbia as you mentioned. But I think as telemedicine advances and these telemedicine laws allow for interstate or international practice of medicine, you're going to see standards starting to equalize a little bit. You're gonna see competition, not just competition with price but competition with quality of care. And I think like in the free market principles of competition, sometimes competition can be good for the consumer. If you have a doctor that is not that great and you have access to a doctor who is great via telemedicine, it'll force your own doctor to try to get up to a higher standard as well. And so I think that you're going to see happen and for that to happen it'll take some time, it'll take some trust from society to change that cultural mindset. But I think as you develop trust in physicians beyond where you can see them, as you develop trust in certified medical devices that are accurate, then I think you're going to see telemedicine grow. I think a big part of that is trust and uh , that is honestly going to become the cornerstone for telemedicine's growth.

Julio Martinez: 22:23

Yeah, very good, very good. Alright , let's talk a little bit about the device itself , uh, Samir . And also I'd like to speak about how close you are to securing a deal with this potential coronary Mexico so that the device is deployed in the country. I really want to see this happen <laugh> sooner than later in Latin America. So um, let's talk about the regulatory approval process for the device. How many devices do you have there? It is like three in one, four in one, something like that, right? Can you talk about that

Samir Qamar: 22:56

Many devices? Absolutely. So I'll share with you some of this and you know, this is a product that I gave the idea to our team and the team helped to create it. We have a fantastic team of software engineers, hardware engineers, marketing people. It's um, it's a wonderful product combination of many minds put together. But in a nutshell, again, med wand was made to be able to examine patients across great distances, specifically with video telemedicine. So it has several of the basic features for diagnostic tools you would find or expect in a doctor's office. For instance, I can take your temperature. So this by the way sits with the patient. This would sit on your side let's say and uh, let's say you're on vacation in Columbia or you're stuck because of covid restrictions and travel and you have this device there, you can plug it in to your computer, you can plug it into your smartphone, you can plug it into a tablet as long as if you , you have internet access, you're good. And then you and I can talk to each other the way we're doing now on video. And I would say, Julio, please take out your device. I can see you in real time just like you can see me holding the device here. I can guide you as to how to place the device so I can then collect your measurements on my side no matter where I am . I could be on a beach in Florida and you could be in Columbia and I can examine you . So it has a non-contact thermometer. For instance, I can get your temperature not just in Fahrenheit but also in Celsius as well. It has heart rate. So if you put your finger on here on the top, there's a sensor, I can get your heart rate. I can also get your oxygen levels. These are important parameters in medical practice. I can also get a respiratory rate as well. It has lights, headlights, LED lights at the front. I switch them on from my side and control the light intensity. So if you shine this into your throat, I can take a look at your tonsils, the back of your throat. I can zoom in if I am unsure about something. And by the way, this is a high definition video camera, high speed made by the same people who built the red digital cinema camera in Hollywood. Same engineers are working with us. And so very high quality video which also can be recorded. And this is all in real time . There's even a place to put a tongue depressor that's disposable. So you can actually push your tongue down and have me look into your mouth as well. That video camera also allows us to put ear tips for looking inside your ear as well. And so you would put that on here, it clicks on you , put that into your ear and I can actually look inside your eardrum, look at your ear canal and it could be for you or someone else in your family for instance, it also has a dermatoscope. So there's a scale that you attach to the bottom and when you look at it, I can measure lesions from here. So a mole that's suspect, we can zoom in, get a closeup of its borders, even measure it so we can track it over time to make sure it's not growing or anything like that. We can do all of that with this. There is a digital stethoscope that we built in-house and it's not just any stethoscope, we're rarely proud of this stethoscope. It has beat all other digital stethoscopes on the market in terms of sensitivity. We've been doing internal testing and we're very proud of this. Uh , we actually have been able to harness sounds of the heart and the lungs and the stomach and so forth using different frequencies they make and we have enhanced them through some software partners of ours where I can now listen to your heart lungs. So if you're, again, you could be in Hawaii on a vacation and I could be on vacation as well. I could be maybe in Italy. And as long as we both have access to the internet, I can listen to your heart, I can listen to your lungs, I can listen to your belly. So it's a very powerful stethoscope that I can amplify from my end using different filters. And by the way, I can record all of this from images to sound to video and then it also has an EKG as well. So you put your two thumbs on this and I can get a basic EKG to make sure your heart rhythms are functioning normally. Uh, there are some things of course we don't have in this. We can't have everything in one device. So we also have allowed it to pair via Bluetooth with other devices. So say a blood pressure cuff .

Julio Martinez: 27:39

Yeah, blood pressure needs to be taken <laugh> on the patients . Yeah.

Samir Qamar: 27:42

Yes. Blood pressure is very important. Blood glucose is very important uh, with the rise of diabetes across the world. Uh, so we are able to pair with devices like that so that everything, all the data flows in through the same software platform and so forth. But it does many things from a hardware standpoint and uh, we're really proud of this. It's won many awards around the world , uh, including the biggest award at CES last year , uh, in Las Vegas. It's a lot of work. You know, we try not to uh uh, get stuck in our awards and accomplishments. It's easy to get uh, excited about that and I think, you know, we deserve uh, those accolades but our mission is beyond that. Our mission is to actually bridge the last remaining mile. The last gap in telemedicine were examinations and vitals weren't as commonplace. And I think with this device we're doing that brilliantly. Yeah.

Julio Martinez: 28:44

So Samir was the deployment that you envisioned for the device, if I am just a regular person, I would just go to CVS or Walgreens and and buy the device for myself. I have it ready for whenever I have a telemedicine consultation and then you're gonna partner with telemedicine platforms so that they have the software to connect to the patient's device . Is that what you envision here?

Samir Qamar: 29:12

I think it depends where you're talking about. If you're talking about a place where telemedicine has been adopted by consumers and embraced and is actually preferred in some ways, then yes I think consumer approaches will work better in those countries. I can tell you when we started this project about seven years ago, at that time consumer adoption was very low. And mainly because you know, there's the trust factor. Again, Latin America gets to see the US' journey and where we were a few years ago , uh, there was a lack of examinations, a lack of vitals. I mean all really you had was video chat, which wasn't really good enough for many things. So that has changed with the pandemic. Uh, consumer adoption just skyrocketed worldwide when it comes to telemedicine. So originally we had decided to market to those entities that already had invested in telemedicine infrastructure such as hospital systems, telemedicine companies, insurance companies and so forth. There are certain industries out there that also have invested in telemedicine infrastructure like airlines and shipping companies, oil rigs, places like that, that need some type of technology to examine their employees and so forth.

Julio Martinez: 30:41

Yeah, they have a fixed number of patients, a target population that is predictable.

Samir Qamar: 30:47

Absolutely. For instance, you know, if you're in a plane and there's a medical emergency, it would be so nice to be able to examine a patient in mid-flight or if you have a uh , cargo ship and you're in the middle of nowhere and you need to get one of your crew members examined, instead of diverting off course and wasting lots of money not being able to meet your schedule, you can now be examined with something like med wand.

Julio Martinez: 31:13

So one device will be enough for a hundred people or something like that.

Samir Qamar: 31:17

Sure. I mean you can use this device with many people and you have to change out devices and the tips and things like that and all of that. But eventually what you described I believe is going to be one of the ways you can get access to med wand. Again, it depends where you live. I think in Latin America right now it might be premature to sell this to the consumers directly as a whole because it's a little early. It doesn't mean it's not gonna happen, it's going to happen eventually. But as trust, again trust is very important is that increases with the type of devices trust increases with the quality of physicians on the other side, then you're going to start seeing greater consumer adoption like has happened in the US and in Europe and then eventually, yes, you'll be able to purchase us now will this be available for purchase for consumers? The answer in short is yes during the pandemic, in fact we decided as a company looking at consumer adoption, that was increasing to create an interface between med wand and smartphones. So you'll be able to then plug this into your own smartphone. That was a pure consumer oriented decision that we made. And uh, we will continue to enhance on that and expand on that as we grow our company and as telemedicine grows as an industry.

Julio Martinez: 32:34

Okay. And where are you right now in terms of regulatory approvals in the United States or Europe or , or in Mexico , uh, with this distributor? Is this a five 10 K product at the FDA or what?

Samir Qamar: 32:46

It's nice when someone knows what five 10 K means, so absolutely we are five 10 KFDA , uh, we're applying for that right now. As a matter of fact, we're wrapping up some testing. One of the issues with having so many diagnostics in a singular device is that you have to show that each of your features works just as well, if not better than what's already approved by the FDA . Absolutely. And it's no secret the US right now is the biggest market for any telemedicine product. So we sought FDA approval first. That's coming first, but I can share with you this again, healthcare is global and uh, this is a global product. So we are already shipping , uh, these units for pilots in countries all over the world, probably every continent I think. And uh , that's only for trial investigational purposes. But we do have plans ongoing everywhere. So we ce for Europe and you know, the TGA for Australia, we, everything is already in place to expand internationally and Latin America won't be an exception to that.

Julio Martinez: 33:56

Excellent Samir. Alright Samir, we're close to the end of the show. I can thank you enough for your participation here. And before we sign off for today, what would you say to the CEO of a medical device company in the US or Europe who is just exploring the opportunity in the region? What will be your mores of wisdom? <laugh> <laugh> ,

Samir Qamar: 34:17

One word opportunity that is I think going to sum up any potential medical technology business. The alchemy of combining medicine and technology that results in digital health is going to play a big part in our daily lives in the future. And that's not limited to any geographic area, it's not limited to any particular ethnicity or population. Healthcare is global. Humanity is global. So medical technology as a consequence has to be global. And as broadband internet expands and there will be new ways, I believe coming up, whether it's satellite enabled or balloon enabled or fiber optics, you're going to see new types of ways come up that are going to link people together. Globalization always moves forward. It doesn't move backward. And I think as that happens, you're gonna see a globalization of healthcare, not just technology, but I dare say services as well because telemedicine has the ability to cross borders, cross the mountains, cross oceans. So my advice to those CEOs would be , uh, it's an open opportunity and uh, it's very nice to be able to make an impact on populations, on countries that advance society and why not be part of that? So that is what we're trying to do and that would give the same advice to everybody else.

Julio Martinez: 35:59

I'm very happy to hear those words and I applaud your interest in Latin America, starting in Mexico. Not every company looks at Latin America the way you do and many companies miss on the opportunity. They usually think you are first. And I don't understand it's a big market is more mature, but the opportunity may be bigger in Latin America as it takes a little longer, it's probably a little more difficult. But the requires are fantastic because it's an unexplored territory full of opportunities and very few companies venture to , uh, address the needs of patients in Latin America that desperately need , uh, medical innovation. And that's the spirit of the podcast, to teach companies or to show companies the opportunity that Latin America represents. So Samir again, thank you. It was really a privilege to speak with you. How can people get in contact with you or med wand ?

Samir Qamar: 36:52

Yeah , so if they want to get in touch , uh, with Med Wand , uh, we have a website, med one.com . They are welcome to reach us through that. The , there's a contact page I believe. And uh, personally , um, I'm on LinkedIn. I have a very modest following and uh, I'm on Twitter as well. But happy to entertain any, just share any ideas with anyone who might have any , uh, as well.

Julio Martinez: 37:17

Excellent, Samir , thank you so much. Have a great day.

Samir Qamar: 37:20

Thank you, Julio. It's a pleasure.

Julio Martinez: 37:22

Thank you.