Medtech is a huge up-and-coming industry. With modern technology, more and more life-changing medical products are being launched to improve patients’ quality of life.
However, the process of getting medical products to market and for them to succeed requires expert MedTech market intelligence. Medtech intelligence, or strategic portfolio planning, is key to increasing confidence in your product and edging out your competitors.
In this article, we will explore three vital parts of MedTech intelligence, so you can enter this new venture knowing that you’re in the best position to launch your medical product.
What Is Medtech Intelligence For?
Before we explore some key factors of MedTech, it’s important to understand what the MedTech industry does. In its simplest form, Medtech combines medical knowledge and medical technology.
Those who work in the MedTech intelligence industry are responsible for gathering data on various aspects of medical development and medical markets. This data helps scientists and pharmacists launching medical products to ensure their product is as good as they can be and that it meets or exceeds market demands.
#1 Gathering Accurate Market Data
The most important thing that MedTech intelligence can give developers is accurate data to inform their product development and market reach. This includes data such as:
Medical Supply Distribution Numbers
With insight into medical distribution, developers will know where to target their drugs for sale. An insight into supply numbers will help them see which sectors need their products and where their main competitors are.
Treatment And Procedure Numbers
If you have developed a new medical product that treats a specific ailment, it’s important to know where the people that may benefit from your product are.
Procedure data helps developers to see where most people are being treated for an illness that their product could help with. This gives important data that can be used to create more localised marketing strategies while ensuring that the people who need the product most receive it first.
Price Track Data
Price tracking data is collected by looking at competing products to keep your prices competitive when you take a product to market.
It’s an important type of analytic to use when evaluating how much to sell a product for, as buyers will be unlikely to purchase a product far more expensive than competitors but don’t offer any extra benefits.
Price track data can inform you of costs per dosage, which helps you accurately and competitively price a product.
#2 Epidemiology Data
Epidemiology is a branch of medical science that investigates and collects data on the presence or absence of disease in certain places or communities.
It helps researchers to understand how many people suffer from a particular disease, if there are any common factors in why a large number of people from one area may suffer from the same disease, and how it affects that area.
In many ways, Epidemiology combines biological research and social science, exploring the connections between diseases and the people who experience them.
One way that epidemiological studies are carried out is by a survey. For example, the NIH (National Institute of Hearing) studies hearing issues by asking people if someone in their family has suffered from hearing loss. Though it seems simplistic, this data would help them see how common hearing loss is and begin to see trends in whether these issues are passed down within the family or seem circumstantial, giving them the information needed to conduct clinical research based on trends.
For a developer selling a drug that treats ear infections, knowing that there is a specific area that seems to be affected by these more than another would give them insight into where their drug is needed.
Medtech intelligence can help the developer to see ‘biomarkers’ of where their drug may be most beneficial, as well as important epidemiology data and patient journey information.
#3 Patient Journey Analytics
A patient journey is just what it sounds like – it’s the journey a patient takes from an initial diagnosis to the end of their treatment. This can be incredibly useful for medicare developers and medical practitioners alike, showing them when and where products might be needed.
It can allow developers to see things such as when in a patient’s journey, their treatment falls short – and this can be an opening to introduce your product to that specific market for that specific treatment.
Or, for example, you may be able to see that during treatment for a specific disease, a large number of patients express issues with their eyes as a side effect – this presents an opening to push the eye drops you’ve developed to clinics that treat that disease.
Patient analytics is also an important type of human-centric data to understand the needs and wants of the people who may receive the treatment you’ve developed.
Just as important as it is to understand the market, MedTech intelligence also highlights how it’s also important to understand the patients, their journeys and their medical demands.
Should You Invest In Medtech Intelligence?
The easy answer to this is yes. If you have a medical product which you want to take to market, MedTech intelligence will be fundamental in ensuring that your drug enters with a competitive edge.
Data-driven research produces proven results, so you should always appreciate the importance of the analytics that MedTech intelligence can provide.
Interesting Related Article: “How Health Information Technology Affects Patient Data Safety“