Margarita Alfonsel Jaén

Bachelor's Degree with Honours in Pharmacy from UCM (Complutense University of Madrid), with training in Clinical Analysis and Radio-pharmaceuticals. Her professional background combines a thirst for research and technology with extensive experience in business management and strategy.

She started out as a researcher at the Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology Research in the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and in the Institute for Renewable Energy.

In 1988, she joined FENIN as Technical Director and since September 2002 she has served as Secretary General of FENIN, the highest executive position in the organisation.

She has studied Business Management in various Business Schools. She has published various articles and participates in master classes and workshops, and teaches university courses and masters programmes. Since 2007 she has served as Secretary on the Board of the Fundación Tecnología y Salud, a foundation promoted by Fenin.

Spanish medtech: looking to the future

Value
11 Dec 2017
In its 40-year history, Fenin, the Spanish medtech federation, has seen enormous changes in Spain’s healthcare landscape. In the second part of a two-part interview, Margarita Alfonsel, General Secretary of Fenin, shares her thoughts on the future. Read part one, reflecting on Fenin’s 40-year history Q. How is Fenin working to shape the future of Spanish healthcare? Fenin has been researching and working for technological development for forty years with the aim of incorporating innovation into the Spanish healthcare system in an agile and equitable manner. We are working to value health technology, representing the interests of the sector in the appropriate forums, promoting free competition and preserving market unity. Q. What are the current priorities of the organization? One of the most important priorities for our Federation is to work towards correcting the obsolescence of hospital equipment. For this reason, we have collaborated with the Spanish Ministry of Health on a Renewal Plan to solve this problem. In addition, the new Code of Ethics of the Health Technology Sector in Spain is another of our most immediate challenges. Since its approval at Medtech Europe in 2015, Fenin immediately began to work on its implementation, becoming the first national association in its transposition. We are also working to facilitate the adaptation of the members companies to the new regulation on Medical Devices and In Vitro Diagnostics with the great support of Medtech Europe. Finally, one of Fenin aim’s is to work with the public administration on health technology investment to establish new management models to introduce value-based innovations for health professionals and patients. Q. What major future trends do you foresee in the coming years? Currently, the Spanish medical technology industry is going through a period of change. The ageing of the Spanish population and the increasingly high prevalence of...

Celebrating 40 years of Spanish MedTech

Value
28 Nov 2017
Fenin , the Spanish medtech federation, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Founded in 1977, the year of Spain’s first democratic elections, the organisation has worked with more than 20 health ministers and seen several landmark developments. These include the establishment of the tax-funded universal National Health System (SNS), growing responsibility for health policy at regional level, and advances in social security. In the first part of a two-part interview, Margarita Alfonsel, General Secretary of Fenin, shares her reflections on four eventful decades. Q: What are the most significant trends in medical technology that have occurred in Spain in the last 40 years? The multiple technological advances that have developed in the health sector in recent decades have allowed medical care to change substantially. New technologies have been progressively incorporated into care services and they have provided professionals with better tools to prevent health problems, to make better diagnoses, to respond more efficiently and to coordinate patients. Q. Which product areas have seen most growth? Over the years, the contributions of the healthcare technology industry to improving the health and quality of the lives of patients have been numerous. Examples include insulin pumps or glucose monitoring systems in diabetic patients; implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in patients with ischemic heart disease; myoelectric prostheses or knees with microprocessors in patients with motor disabilities; new diagnostic techniques in cancer patients; deep electrical-brain stimulation techniques in patients with degenerative diseases; neuromuscular stimulation, or peritoneal dialysis in patients with renal insufficiency. In recent years, the sectors that have experienced growth of more than 4% in Spain have been Dental, Cardiology, Home Care and Technology and Clinical Information Systems. Q. How many companies / employees work in the health technology sector in Spain today? Fenin brings together large, medium and small companies, national and international. Such companies offer...