As we look to the future, medical device manufacturers face a new world that’s full of opportunities. However, uncertainty lies ahead as well. New standards and regulations are emerging, reimbursem*nt rules are becoming more complex, healthcare dynamics are evolving, and companies are facing an increasingly competitive scenario. This challenging environment requires medical device companies to reduce costs, streamline their operations, and innovate more quickly.
Additionally, medical device manufacturers are set to witness growth opportunities in emerging markets with the increasing importance of medical devices and surgical equipment in modernhealthcare.
Medical devices industry overview
Globally, the medical device manufacturers are shifting from a transaction-based approach to an approach that involves focusing on creating value for providers, practitioners, payers, and patients by providing surgicalinstruments and medical tools that are highly cost-efficient, innovative, and speak volumes about the product quality.
The medical device manufacturing industry is expected to grow by leaps and boundsowing to the rising aging population, increasing health concerns, and sky-rocketing health care costs. As a result,medical device manufacturersare undertaking new product development projects at breakneck speed, especially in emerging markets such as China and India. However, a key point to remember here is that the medical equipment manufacturing companies would require a proper execution strategy to address the needs and concerns of the key stakeholders in the market.
In the emerging markets, medical devices and surgical equipment are often lookedat as cost drivers for limited budget hospitals, although they offer long-term cost-saving opportunities, create effective healthcare practices and offer improved patient outcomes. Despite the trends and developments, medical devicecompanies must take the necessary steps to overcome the challenges pertaining to product quality, regulatory compliance, and data security among several others.
Let’s look at the top 5 challenges faced by medical device manufacturers in the emerging markets:
Ensuring Product Quality
Medical device manufacturers must warrant top-notch product quality to avoid product recalls. For a medical equipment manufacturer,product recall negatively impactsits brand reputation and the company’s bottom line. Thus, ensuring adequate product safety, security andreliability are extremely crucial to survive the competition in emerging markets.
Regulatory Compliance and Government Support
Medical device manufacturers must ensure adherence to product safety standards and regulatory compliance. Medical devices include every piece of equipment right from thermometers to magnetic resonance imaging machines. Medical equipment manufacturing companies must pay attention to compliance and regulatory standards that differ from country to country.
Besides this, garnering government support in the form of subsidized research and development, expediting approvals, tax and financial support, and offering favorable tax reimbursem*nts are some of the major challenges for medical device manufacturers.
Localization of Medical Devices
In the emerging markets, localmedical devicemanufacturers aremore successful as compared to their multinational counterparts. This is possible because the local players offer tailor-made products aimed at resolving local needs and constraints. The local medical equipment manufacturers often indulge in market research and leverage the benefits of local operations and a domestic sales force to bridge the gaps in the market.
IoT Integration and Data Security
Internet-of-Things (IoT) enabled medical devices and surgical instruments that are high on innovation pose as a technical challenge for medical devices companies. The growing concern of medical equipment manufacturing companies is to collect, secure, and manage vast amounts of sensitive data that is stored in a cloud-based infrastructure to prevent data theft and breaches.
Cost of Product Development
The major challenge for medical device manufacturers is to overcome the burgeoning cost of product development as a result of the challenges mentioned above. Besides technology and government regulations, medical service providers evaluate new products based on their price against factors like patient experience.
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