Ireland, as home to the top pharma and medtech companies, has positioned itself as a leader in research & development and continues to shape innovation in health care. Constant changes in the global health care systems and evolving regulations, means that innovation is becoming increasingly important. For example, the lines between technology and medical devices/pharma are blurring with health care wearables becoming part of everyday life. The continued focus on incentives such as the R&D Tax Credit and the Knowledge Development Box for this sector in Ireland should seek to ensure that Ireland continues to grow as an R&D hub for the Life Sciences Industry.
Health care is an industry in need of innovation. Health plans, providers, life sciences companies, and the government are facing rising costs and inconsistent outcomes. They are working to achieve the triple aim— improving care, improving health, and reducing spending. What innovations are most likely to help stakeholders achieve these goals and transform health care over the next 10 years?
We surveyed leaders across the health care system to identify the innovations they think are most likely to transform health care. We then narrowed the list to the top 10 by applying the following definition:
Innovation: Any combination of activities or technologies that break existing performance tradeoffs in the attainment of an outcome, in a manner that expands the realm of the possible. Defined in health care as providing “more for less”—more value, better outcomes, greater convenience, access and simplicity; all for less cost, complexity, and time required by the patient and the provider, in a way that expands what is currently possible.
Our current health care system’s performance can be defined by its rules, policies, regulations, enabling technologies, operating models, customs, and patient and provider preferences; together, these elements comprise the frontier of what is possible. They also serve as the constraints to what can be achieved. For far too long the health care industry’s performance, despite attempts to spur progress, has remained at the edge of this frontier. The industry needs to break current constraints and expand the frontier to achieve true breakthrough performance. While the constraints are many, the traditional, dominant, fee-for-service (FFS) payment model, in particular, does not align provider incentives with the goal of achieving more for less.
“More value, better outcomes, greater convenience, access and simplicity; all for less cost, complexity, and time required by the patient and the provider.”