How can medical device companies thrive in the future?

Medical device data is becoming more important than the hardware itself, so medtech companies need to forge a partnership with consumer technology companies to stay innovative, according to a new report from Deloitte.

The Deloitte report — called “Winning the Future of Medtech” — came out yesterday in advance of next week’s AdvaMed MedTech Conference in Boston. Based on information crowdsourced from 38 experts at digital health startups, medtech companies, technology companies, health plans, health systems and researchers, it concludes that medical device companies are well-positioned to drive the future of healthcare, but they can’t do it alone.

“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,” Pedro Arboleda, managing director of Deloitte Consulting, said in a news release.

“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,” Arboleda said.

Medical device companies need to shift their focus away from making incremental improvements to their devices and instead focus on enhancing their products with transformative and cognitive technologies, as well as offering services, according to the report.

Among the experts interviewed, four-fifths cited artificial intelligence (AI) as a top technology for medical device companies to pursue, followed by robotics (53%) and nanotechnology (47%). Top service offerings for the future included 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 at Deloitte Consulting.