BizKnowledge Watch

In an effort to deliver better patient outcomes while at the same time countering slow market growth and declining profitability, the global healthcare industry has adopted a new business model that shifts its focus from developing blockbuster drugs and building pipelines to business portfolio evolution, according to a report by Deloitte. The industry is also more focused than before on the regulatory landscape, emerging markets and treatment changes outcomes.

The report concludes that the primary drivers behind this shift are expiring patents and generic competition, pricing pressures, heightened regulatory scrutiny, expansion into emerging markets, increasing alliances and acquisitions, and a persistent economic slowdown.

The report also closely examines the current state of the global life sciences industry and the top issues facing stakeholders. It provides a snapshot of activity in a number of geographic markets such as health-care reforms, cost controls, government industry incentives and economic impacts on the industry, as well as the strategies companies may adopt to grow revenue and market share in 2013 and beyond.

The report is available to download from the Deloitte website.

The first edition of MIHealth Forum, the new forum on innovation and management in the health care sector, was taking place last week in Barcelona. The MIHealth Forum laid the foundations for tackling the challenges of transforming our health care systems and making them more sustainable in the future.

The more than 70 speakers at the Congress concluded that the challenges posed by a scenario of cost-cutting, demographic growth and hence a greater demand for health care, and the increase in chronicity due to the ageing population, can only be tackled by innovative approaches that combine more efficient processes, the optimum integration of newly-available technologies, and a radical change in the prevailing medical culture towards the adoption of preventive principles that aim to conserve people’s health instead of treating them once they have become ill.

The next edition will be in 2014.

For more information click here.

A high-level group of experts this week warned that Europeans will only be able to benefit from the affordable, less intrusive and more personalised healthcare which Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) can bring if agreement is reached on how to use health data. The group, headed by the President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, delivered this and other recommendations for redesigning health in Europe to Vice President Neelie Kroes and Commissioner John Dalli at eHealth Week 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The eHealth Task Force was established a year ago to advise the Commission on how to unlock the potential of eHealth for safer, better and more efficient healthcare in Europe.

The eHealth Task Force presented its report during the conference “Smart Health – Better Lives” in Copenhagen, co-organised by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. This 10th High Level eHealth Conference 2012 brought together health ministers, government officials and stakeholders to promote innovation for smart health.

The Commission has been investing in eHealth research for over 20 years. Since 2004, when the first eHealth Action Plan was launched, it has also been developing targeted policy initiatives aimed at fostering widespread adoption of eHealth technologies across the EU.

Most recently, the Commission launched the European Innovation Partnership on Active & Healthy Ageing. This brings together the public and private sectors, researchers, health practitioners, patients and carers with the aim of adding 2 years to the average number of healthy life years in the EU by 2020. In the second half of 2012 the Commission will present the eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 to scale-up eHealth for empowerment, efficiency and innovation.

Read this news here.

Read the full report here.

More info about eHealth at the EC.

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The current crisis and high levels of public deficits have reopened the debate on the sustainability of a health-care system that now costs close to 10 percent of Spain’s GDP. As such, many people are calling for the introduction of a copayment approach to health care provision.

In this study, IESE Prof. Nuria Mas uses empirical evidence to draw lessons from the different models of copayment currently in use in other European countries, as well as Canada and the United Status.

This working paper is available from the IESE Publications Website.