5 Trends Driving the Future Growth of Digital Health & MedTech

What You Should Know:

– Today Accenture published Digital Health and MedTech – New Signals for Transformation to understand the impact consumers, patients and healthcare professionals’ experiences and expanding care settings will have on the medtech industry.

– In a global survey of Medtech executives, five key trends were identified, including Care Anywhere and Everywhere with over 75% of executives saying that the expanding care settings and models will significantly reorient their firm’s long-term strategy and change business models.

5 Trends Driving the Future Growth of Digital Health & MedTech

“Healthcare is at a crossroads, facing unprecedented pressure and disruption — including affordability challenges, shifting patient expectations, and an increasing deluge of health data,” said Tim Durst, a managing director at Accenture who leads the global medical technology sector in the company’s Life Sciences practice. “With a unique understanding of therapeutics, patients and providers, as well as insights gained from digital devices in the hands of patients, MedTech companies are well-positioned to lead the transformation to digital health. However, companies will need the proper digital foundation to leverage the necessary insights and create a comprehensive digital health solution.”

The report identifies five key trends driving the future growth of MedTech:

1. The Consumer Patient

Healthcare is no longer a one-way interaction with the patient only on the receiving end; it now requires continuous engagement between the patient, provider and payer. Two-thirds (70%) of executives said that the Consumer Patient phenomenon is very relevant and expect it to significantly affect their firm’s long-term strategy.

2. Care Anywhere, Everywhere

As consumers increasingly expect to receive care how, where and when they want, healthcare is increasingly expanding from hospitals to ambulatory and at-home care locations. The MedTech executives interviewed for the report said that while traditional products continue to drive revenues, the expansion of care to new settings is a key part of their growth strategies.

3. The Rise of Digital Health

MedTech company leaders are prioritizing digital health by building capabilities in-house through investments in R&D, technology, digital and new business models; and by making asset acquisitions to expand their pipeline across therapeutic areas and add new capabilities to innovate faster or reach customers in new ways. Nearly all (99%) executives indicated that development and commercialization of Digital Health solutions has accelerated in the past two years.

4. Converging Sectors

The rise of digital in healthcare is also fueling non-traditional deals, with future success dependent upon various sectors converging to develop products and services across the entire care continuum, according to nearly nine out of 10 (86%) executives.

5. New Regulatory Pathways

Digital Health may fall outside the bounds of established regulatory pathways for untested technologies, requiring new approaches from the sector. Most executives (87%) identified government regulations as a threat and disruptor to their business. This may be due to the shifting nature of regulatory guidelines, as regulatory bodies work to keep up with the rate of new and emerging technologies and ensure they are safe and effective.

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