Time for Europe to connect the dots – POLITICO

Leon Davis was jogging when suddenly he felt a pain in his chest. He arrived at the hospital anxious, desperate for help and answers. It was a huge relief when the clinicians figured out what was wrong and came up with a solution. And thanks to a portable monitor, doctors were able to access valuable data around the clock, providing Leon with invaluable reassurance.

Léon shares his experience in the second edition of Connecting The Dots produced by BBC StoryWorks. The video series, commissioned by MedTech Europe, takes us into the real lives of patients and healthcare professionals in Europe and beyond.

If you’ve ever wondered what truly modern healthcare looks like in the real world, look no further. You’ll see how a tailored combination of diagnostics, monitoring systems and surgical tools got Leon back on his feet.

A pivotal moment

Leon was a fit, healthy person living his busy life when, suddenly, he was abruptly reminded of his own mortality. He could be any of us, at any time.

But Léon’s story is also the story of Dr Sadia Khan, consultant cardiologist. It makes it clear that innovative tools not only improve patient outcomes, but also improve the experience of healthcare professionals. In a world where it is increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified people to meet our growing healthcare needs, it is essential to help healthcare professionals provide effective care.

This is a pivotal moment for the EU. Having led historic reforms that are changing the landscape of healthcare and innovation, European policymakers can now harness the power of technology to transform healthcare systems for the better. At the same time, the next five-year policy cycle can strengthen European competitiveness and create jobs.

Concrete solutions for Europe

Anyone who asks policymakers for change has a responsibility to propose solutions. This is where the MedTech Europe Manifesto for 2024-2029 between. Titled Empower patients, inspire innovationit presents a four-part vision for European healthcare and offers concrete proposals on how to make it a reality.

First, the future must be patient-centered. Watch the Join the dots series, you will be struck by how patients describe their experience of being heard when clinicians and technologies respond to their real needs. Whether it’s a more convenient cervical cancer self-test or non-invasive ultrasound treatment for tremors, the patient is number one.

Whether it’s speeding up recovery time, making hospital visits easier, or even improving a night’s sleep, technology can help.

To support the next wave of innovations and ensure patient access to technologies, Europe must make its current CE marking system more efficient and predictable. By adopting better regulatory principles, we can have a streamlined system with less overlap and less divergence between legislation.

A digital future

Second, one cannot go through these videos without seeing the power of digital health and health data. Remote monitoring allows older people like Sara to live safely and happily at home; smartphone apps support people with diabetes; and real-world data makes the research more representative of the population. We live in a connected world and healthcare must be at the forefront of digital transformation.

To make this happen quickly and for all, the EU and Member States must promote the interoperability of digital health services and modernize their financing mechanisms for purchases of digital health services. And, with AI-based tools on the horizon, the EU must be a leader in regulating a rapidly evolving field while putting these technologies to work for patients. In short, we need a true single digital health market to bring innovation back to Europe.

Resilient and durable

As we look to the future, we must ensure that our health systems have the resilience to meet future challenges. These challenges will include demographic changes, increasing rates of chronic diseases such as cancer, healthcare worker shortages and any surprises the future may hold.

From telemedicine to robotic surgery, medical technologies can reduce the physical demands placed on healthcare professionals and increase their job satisfaction.

And with the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the latest technologies can now help prevent, detect and manage the spread of infections, without resorting to antibiotics. As Professor Karen Ousey, from the University of Huddersfield, explains, this can support responsible use of life-saving medicines without compromising patient care. Patients like Lucy, a mother of three, who had a wound infection after a C-section.

These tools must be deployed without delay. At the same time, Europe’s capacity to manufacture these products must be protected by increasing EU autonomy in accessing supplies of critical materials and components. The medtech sector itself is a component of a resilient healthcare system. We call for effective measures to protect health care from international trade distortions that put our industry at risk.

Finally, there should be no discussion about the future without considering sustainability. We see transformative potential in green and digital agendas, as well as the overlap between digital efficiency and greener healthcare.

System-wide collaboration and partnership can improve the social, ecological, and economic performance of health care. The dialogue will enable manufacturers to navigate the transition to sustainable ways of working without interrupting access to vital technologies.

There is much to look forward to as we face the future together. As the Connecting the Dots series illustrates, Europeans, from babies in neonatal care to people in their 10th decade, can live healthier lives thanks to innovative technologies. The task before us is to ensure that Europe is the place where innovation happens and is brought to those who need it.