The medtech industry will be re-evaluating its strategy with one eye on future success, and those who do so first will gain an advantage. In order to fulfill their end of the contract with the public, companies will need to adopt a new approach to training, patient engagement, and clinical trials under this new virtual engagement strategy.
Fremont, CA: The medical device industry, like every other industry, has been forced to adapt over the last year. Severe disruption, shifting priorities, and newly emerging challenges all had an impact on how the industry operated, and with a permanently altered landscape, these challenges promise to affect organizations well into 2021 and beyond.
However, it is through these problems that innovation, adaptation, and new solutions emerge. Digital trends that were already in motion have been accelerated to the forefront of the life science industry. Virtual engagement strategies, in particular, have become a near-requirement for growth.
The medtech industry will be re-evaluating its strategy with one eye on future success, and those who do so first will gain an advantage. In order to fulfill their end of the contract with the public, companies will need to adopt a new approach to training, patient engagement, and clinical trials under this new virtual engagement strategy.
The landscape of engagement will forever change in 2020. Companies had to strike a balance between a growing emphasis on patient engagement and limitations on physical contact, varying time availability, and travel restrictions.
Even though some of these challenges have subsided, their impact has not. Some forecasters believe that nearly 40 percent of business travel will never return, and in 2020, many HCPs discovered that they preferred virtual meetings and events, such as medical congresses.
In addition, many teams reported shorter timelines, increased productivity, and better results from virtual interaction. In the future, these teams will be more selective about their face-to-face meetings, and many will question the need for a commute when virtual engagement can give better results.
Patients are more used to remote device programming and monitoring as a result of last year's innovations. Regulatory changes agreed upon in response to the crisis have also aided this process. As a consequence, it is anticipated that remote solutions will become a standard feature of life science communications.
