ABHI at 30 Guest Blogs. Together we are Stronger: Collaboration is our Golden Ticket to Sustainable Value
Try to imagine our world today without MedTech. It’s not easy to do because we know it is central to the health of society today and the sustainability of healthcare tomorrow. MedTech’s role in placing patients at the heart of care will only grow. It’s this responsibility that gets us out of bed each workday.
I’m proud to be part of an industry that – in just a few short decades – has progressed from the equivalent of the candlestick to the lightbulb. We did not settle for current standards but instead created new solutions that filled quality and safety gaps to improve and diversify treatment options. Today, game-changing 1980s innovations, such as minimally-invasive surgery, are best-practice.
When ABHI was formed in 1988 (the same year I joined Johnson & Johnson) there were 56 million UK residents. Today an additional 10 million people require access to care. Testament to great strides in UK care standards, today there are more people aged 65 or above, and 6 years added onto average life expectancy. Yet, with fewer working-age people contributing to NHS funding, a good quality of life in later years could be harder to achieve.
Society is balancing on the edge of a growing chasm between care needs and resource to deliver it.
I believe our greatest strength to add value through MedTech lies in listening to what keeps health providers up at night, and translating this into insight-led solutions. It is only logical that we join forces to deliver optimally and effectively. Some of the most exciting examples of this type of collaborative synergy is delivered through the value-based solutions our industry is co-creating with UK hospitals. Combining innovative technologies and bespoke solutions is allowing us to future-proof the NHS by reducing total care costs, and improving outcomes and satisfaction for patients.
CareAdvantage is one example of this partnership approach that I’ve had the pleasure to be involved with. As part of Johnson & Johnson’s longstanding relationship with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, last year we completed a programme within the colorectal, gynaecology and upper gastrointestinal departments. Laparoscopic adoption in hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures doubled and patients recovered more quickly releasing more than 1,500 bed days.
An earlier Guy’s and St Thomas’ orthopaedics pilot contributed to improved patient satisfaction at a lower cost by reduced length of stay, which released a further 2,900 bed days. That’s over 4,400 beds days that have been saved in collaboration with the Trust.
Results such as these exemplify our industry’s ability to be at the forefront of innovative, sustainable and high-quality healthcare delivery in the UK. Through collaboration with the healthcare providers we serve and industry bodies including ABHI, our industry will remain perfectly placed to deliver care that is based on true value for patients and providers.
Michelle Brennan, Company Group Chair, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and Chair of the Board of MedTech Europe