A major theme across today’s sessions and reflected throughout The MedTech Conference this year is around the future of medical technology and its evolution in global markets. From growth opportunities, to the role of specific innovations, to developments in value based healthcare, the medical technology industry clearly sees both challenges and solutions in terms of local market dynamics, evolving regulations and trend towards patient-centric value.
Today’s official conference opening moderated by EIU Healthcare’s Managing Director, Ivy Teh, touched on this foundational theme: while government officials from across the globe share varying opinions over the direction of the industry, what remains constant is the need for increased attention towards enhancing the value of care delivered to patients.
The impact of medical technology on patient wellness has slowly become a core tenet across the industry, as has the broader economic implications from improved patient health outcomes (i.e., workforce productivity). Expected investments in the industry and future opportunities for innovation all revolve around ensuring that medical technology is effectively bringing about better health outcomes for patients. While the US is recognized as a market leader in medical technology given its size and R&D spending, other countries are starting to make gains, such as China, Indonesia, Colombia and Poland.
Participants on the US-China Medical Innovation Roundtable discussed how greater collaboration between the United States and China could help foster more medical innovation across the industry. As China slowly transitions from a disease care model towards one that is focused on overall health care, medical technology stakeholders are called to develop new innovations that help support this paradigm. This is reflected by investments directed by the Chinese government itself as well as by international organizations seeking growth and expansion in the Chinese market.
The day’s sessions also revolved around mechanisms for facilitating value concepts and how and why they could be expanded upon. The role of real world evidence in informing value initiatives continues to gain traction – the FDA issued guidance on the release of emerging signal communications and the use of real world evidence in regulatory decision making to revolutionize the use of data sources, as discussed in the Building a Health NEST Egg session.
Still, the barriers to greater adoption of value-based concepts differ across regions and are sometimes tied to certain dynamics within a country, as discussed in another EIU-moderated panel, Buying for Value Globally: Can We Make it Work?. Moderated by the Head of Americas at EIU Healthcare, David Humphreys, the conversation revolved around challenges to implementing a sustainable value approach that is specific to medical technology. At the same time, examples of industry-government collaboration such as those discussed by Alberta Health, demonstrate that a joint approach focused on the patient can bear positive fruits for all stakeholders involved.
Stay tuned for another recap tomorrow (Tuesday, September 26), view our Monday social media recap here, or view our Monday photo recap here.
This post is brought to you by EIU Healthcare.
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For more information, contact David Humphreys, Head of US Practice, EIU Healthcare