Vendors need to resolve security and interoperability for patient engagement

Patient engagement in Europe is a challenging space to operate in, despite the strong government impetus, coupled with the wide availability of supportive technology

Resistance among patients and providers towards the concept of patient engagement is gradually weakening due to the rising ubiquity of smartphones and the growing uptake of digital health tools by healthcare providers. This combination of factors helps open up the market among the younger, digitally native, demographics, who are more comfortable using interactive technologies.

Overall, vendors need to carefully study regional nuances, challenges, and growth opportunities in the European market to create bespoke products that will encourage its continual use.

“The shift to outcomes-based medicine and preventive care is encouraging providers to engage with their patients. Many are looking to empower patients by presenting them with their health data and including them in the decision-making process aimed at improving health outcomes,” said Chandni Mathur, Digital Health Analyst, Transformational Health.

“Patient engagement 2.0 is further gaining currency with digital innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and consumer-grade wearables entering the mainstream. As these tools collect large volumes of data, vendors have to develop a strong privacy strategy as well as demonstrate the accuracy of the tools to physicians.”

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, The Future of Patient Engagement 2.0 in Europe, 2018, discusses the marketplace and digital technologies pertaining to patient engagement in Europe. It identifies geographic hotspots as well as growth opportunities by region and by stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies, medical diagnostics and devices, payers, and healthcare provider set-ups. It analyses opportunities by country and ecosystem components including medtech, pharma, providers and payers.

“Across Europe, telemedicine and remote monitoring have been identified as growth opportunities. Estonia, in particular, has emerged as a top destination for market expansion due to its favourable regulations and the willingness of its patient and physician populations to adopt new methods and technologies,” noted Chandni.

“There is also considerable start-up activity in markets such as the UK and Nordics region, which offer opportunities for volume growth.”

There are additional growth opportunities in:

• Having standard operating frameworks in place. This will solve the issue of interoperability and aid seamless data sharing among devices, stakeholders, and geographies.
• Collaborating with large providers, government agencies, and commercial payers to co-build a solutions portfolio customised to a country‘s interests, patient requirements, and physician preferences.
• Shifting from fee-for-service payment models to value-based ones.
• Leveraging multidisciplinary and cross-functional technology innovation.

The Future of Patient Engagement 2.0 in Europe, 2018 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s global Digital Health Growth Partnership Service program.