Medtech: The Essential Enabler to Ensure Universal Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary isolation of most of the population forced national healthcare systems to take a leap forward in the implementation of medtech technologies, such as telemedicine, robotics, digital therapeutics, incorporation of artificial intelligence and big data, for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Medtech was defined by the WHO in 2007 as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, drugs, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve the quality of life."

From the end of 2019 to the close of 2022, research and projects related to the entry of new health technologies or medtech grew 264% worldwide, according to the study The Future of HealthCare Technology: The Rise of Digital Health, prepared by the New York-based technology market research platform AlphaSense. This document will be one of the bases for analysis and discussion at the international MedTech Conference, to be held in California in October 2023.

In Latin America, medtech adoption also accelerated with the pandemic. National healthcare systems had to complete in months transformation processes that would have taken years to implement had it not been for innovation. According to the Holon IQ LATAM Health Tech 50, Brazil is the great power, hosting 52% of medtech companies in the region, followed by Mexico with 24%, Argentina 10%, Chile 6% and Colombia 4%.

It is mistaken to think that technology will push doctors aside; in fact, the opposite is true: innovations in the sector coupled with digital tools will drive and grow the healthcare industry with benefits for the entire ecosystem, from healthcare professionals to public and private healthcare institutions, to patients, who should be seen as the center of all innovations.

The global trend of medtech is explained by data presented by specialized consulting firms, such as the British firm Deloitte, which states that the adoption of medtech technologies has generated a "dramatic transformation" because it reduces care times by between 50% and 80%, increases the efficiency of healthcare systems by between 15% and 40% and reduces costs by between 10% and 40%.

At Johnson & Johnson MedTech, we are confident of helping to improve and maintain accuracy in medical procedures with virtual reality, reducing patient time in the operating room with less invasive interventions, reducing the frequency of errors in the operating room with the analysis and use of data in digitized surgical workflows, improving access to treatment for more patients as well as improving the economic equation in healthcare systems around the world.

Particularly, and according to Alpha Sense's analysis, there are four fields where the greatest evolution was recorded: digital therapeutics and remote patient monitoring (+414%), telemedicine (154%), artificial intelligence and big data (111%) as well as robotics for operating rooms (21%).2

It is a fact that medtech is constantly growing and developing to achieve three objectives in particular: to raise healthcare standards, improve people's life quality and provide global access to medical procedures. All these objectives will transform healthcare systems worldwide.

The work is everybody's job- Private and public sector companies must work on innovation as one of the main pillars of the business and focus on being a medtech to permeate the sector as soon as possible. The pandemic two years ago was a watershed; it is our responsibility to be prepared for atypical situations that put humanity at risk. Collaboration between institutions, companies and government is essential to achieve this.

In its current work program, WHO considers that the growth of medtech can enhance the healthcare of 3 billion people by the end of 2023 with the strategic and innovative use of digital and cutting-edge information and communications technologies.

The commitment that had been faintly pursued since 2007 is now more alive than ever. Health technologies must be seen as indispensable, enabling tools for effective and efficient prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, and the achievement of the internationally agreed health-related development goals.