Devices & Diagnostics

Medtronic’s Ishrak crystalizes new place in healthcare: We’re not a medical device provider

Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak summed up the changes underway at medical device companies like his […]

Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak summed up the changes underway at medical device companies like his in a few succinct minutes on Monday at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C.

“We’ve been viewed and viewed ourselves as simply a device provider as opposed to a healthcare solution provider which is what this is,” said Ishrak, who spoke on a panel on new healthcare collaboration with the likes of Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy,  Duke University Health System CEO Dr. Victor Dzau, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina CEO Brian Wilson.

These are thoughts he and other executives have discussed before. But it will be hard to find a more direct outline of the challenges for medical device companies that have to adjust to a system that will pay for the quality of care rather than the act of, say, implanting a stent.

Ishrak began his talk by describing Medtronic as a company with a history of innovation. But, he admitted, today’s innovation is different. What people pay for from Medtronic today is done during the medical procedure, Ishrak said. However, the true value of that procedure occurs after it’s complete and, today and in the future, that value will be realized over a longer period of time, Ishrak said.

To really get to the bottom of that value of a medical device and the procedure, Medtronic will need to leverage data and insights from hospital systems, health insurance companies and governments, among others. Through these efforts they’ll figure out the true cost of healthcare.

“This is brand new for us,” Ishrak said.

You can listen to an excerpt of his talk here.

 

Shares0
Shares0