The future of health is expected to be driven by an omnipresent, proactive, and integrated system aimed at health and well-being, where transformational technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, digital therapeutics, cloud and app-enabled digital health capabilities, augmented and virtual reality) are poised to play a significant role. New research for the medical-technology ("medtech") industry from Deloitte finds that these emerging technologies can result in a dramatic change to traditional medtech business models, opening up an opportunity for enhanced collaboration with consumer technology and digital health companies to transform the delivery of care.
 
The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions recently conducted a crowdsourcing simulation with experts across digital health start-ups, medtech companies, technology companies, health plans, health systems, and research institutions to better understand what the medtech company of the future might look like.
 
Partnering for the Future
The research revealed one particularly important finding: medtech companies that have traditionally focused on developing hardware (e.g., surgical equipment, joint replacements, diagnostic equipment, infusion pumps, pacemakers, etc.) are shifting their focus to software, data collection, and advanced data analysis.
 
"What's interesting for medtech companies to know from this research is that in many ways, the data collected from their hardware could be more valuable than the hardware itself, at least as these capabilities evolve even more radically in the future," said Pedro Arboleda, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "To stay relevant in the future of health and be in a position to embrace new care models, medtech companies should consider partnering much more closely with consumer technology companies so they can continue innovating across the complete patient journey and clinician experience."
 
The research found that while many medtech companies are well-positioned to drive the future of health, they likely won't be able to do it alone. Developing acquiring or partnering to access sophisticated data analytics capabilities, rather than focusing on making incremental improvements to their devices, can ensure transformative capabilities that can be better able to address changing patient and clinician needs. The top technologies cited by the research, in order, were artificial intelligence (AI) (80%), robotics (53%), and nanotechnology (47%).
 
The Future through New Services
Deloitte's research also found that medtech companies will likely make the transition to the future of health through more sophisticated, data-driven services. Medtech companies are poised to play a significant role in reducing medical costs, optimizing surgical performance, and improving patient outcomes in the near-term. The top three service areas cited were remote patient monitoring (72%), data storage and integration (67%), and improving clinical efficiency (45%).
 
"The pace of innovation in health care is unprecedented, so medtech companies should think about what role they want to play in the future ecosystem, whether it's a data and platform provider, a well-being and care delivery organization, a care enabler, or elements of all three. Knowing where a partner may help fill any short- or long-term gaps can only position them for greater success," said Glenn Snyder, principal and medtech leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
 
To review the research paper, "Winning in the future of medtech: Novel partnerships with consumer tech to transform the delivery of care," visit Deloitte Insights.