New Study Illustrates Medtech Industry Response to Digital Innovation and Value-based Care Models

Washington, D.C. – Medtech R&D leaders are adopting a variety of strategies to navigate the changing U.S. health care ecosystem, according to a new study from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).

The new study, “The next wave of innovation: Technology and value-based care are transforming medtech R&D,” details how a growing emphasis on value-based care models and a constant emergence of new technologies are influencing medtech companies’ business strategies.

The report found that, to adapt to health care system transformation, R&D executives are focusing on the following top priorities over the next 3-5 years:

• Diversification of portfolios (86 percent),
• Accelerating time to market (82 percent), and
• Leveraging real world evidence in product development (77 percent).

“A changing health care landscape is creating new opportunities for medtech to drive innovation, and medtech is certainly taking advantage,” said Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of AdvaMed. “R&D leaders are shifting their strategies in the face of new trends to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and provide more integrated and coordinated care for the benefit of patients around the world. AdvaMed will continue to promote policies that support this evolution, so that medtech can continue to deliver life changing treatments and cures.”

Highlighting the opportunities and difficulties posed by the emergence of digital technologies, all companies surveyed (100 percent) in the study reported investing in device connectivity; however, many (77 percent) identified integration of data from new technologies as a potential obstacle, citing lack of access to critical funding and skill gaps. Additionally, 95 percent of companies surveyed pinpointed increasing complexity of global regulatory requirements as a major challenge.

To help address these problems and drive their innovation agendas, most companies (82 percent) plan to collaborate with non-traditional partners (e.g. technology and health care companies) and adopt hybrid operating models (73 percent) that leverage a combination of centralized and decentralized resources.

“The digital transformation of medtech is requiring R&D leaders to modify their operations and invest in future capabilities,” said Glenn Snyder, principal and medtech leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Key emerging capabilities include platforms to collect and analyze patient and other real-world data, as well as digital skillsets needed to develop products with sensors, software and AI. Such capabilities may also require new processes and operating models.”

The report’s findings are based on surveys of 22 medtech company representatives working in the organizational R&D function.