August 25, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers finds lots of room for improvement in medical device makers’ approach to the digital age, including in their use of social media, big data and mobile apps.
The healthcare space is getting a major influx of digital innovation, but much of it’s coming from outside the traditional parameters of the industry.
Companies like Apple (NSDQ:AAPL), Google (NSDQ:GOOG),Samsung (LON:BC94) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) are poised to eat medtech’s cake if the industry can’t keep up with digital platforms that have already taken hold in other markets.
Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers highlighted the top digital technologies that device makers need to master in order to avoid falling behind, including:
- Social media (not just for press releases anymore),
- Data mining (Big Data is nothing without analysis),
- Customer-facing mobile apps (not just for education anymore)
Medtech executives identified these technologies as valuable strategic tools, but three-quarters added that their companies were struggling to adopt them. Meanwhile, the stakes are only getting higher. Patients expectations are changing, as are the needs of providers and insurers.
