Stresses on health systems have never been higher. To start, the profitability of health systems is close to the edge with almost half of health systems in the United States posting operational losses. It’s a story of haves and have-nots with real viability risks for many, especially in rural settings. At the same time, capacity constraints are binding, hitting important service lines such as cardiology and general surgery leading to aggressive management of operating room (OR) scheduling. Staffing challenges have never really abated since the pandemic. Even if less desperate than those dark days, a mass exodus of staff through either retirement or personal reckoning has meant ongoing operational challenges. Delivering a high-functioning OR team is no longer a given in most hospitals. To top it off, societal challenges are mirrored inside the four walls of our institutions with acts of incivility up 500%, (according to Dr. Kevin Smith, President and CEO of University Health Network). And fundamental questions of the belief in science manifest in skeptical patients entering our ORs. At the same time, we’re asking clinicians to digest and manage an ever-expanding—however well intentioned—data and technology landscape that seems to primarily add burden. All the while, our health systems are taking on more and more population health management arrangements with payers. It isn’t easy to be in the business of healthcare delivery.

But this also means the opportunities to partner within the medtech industry have never been greater. While we can’t solve all the problems (“say no to incivility…”), industry can pitch in on some of the most difficult problems. For one, we have a tremendous opportunity to step up on data and technology challenges. Technology cannot simply be the proverbial pricing opportunity. It needs to be a solution that unlocks efficiency, insights and outcomes. We need to apply our development prowess to deal with the deluge of data, tame the torrent of technology and eventually turn machine learning into models of capacity maximization. Training staff is something we have done as an industry since the introduction of clinical complexity. However now we also need to simplify procedures, automate steps and make our technology even more approachable. Beyond training and removing complexity, our challenge needs to be to empower procedures to migrate to the most efficient sites of care. While it’s true that there are substantial economic implications for us and our customers that we cannot ignore, we also cannot ignore the rising tide of site-of-care shifts and capacity constraints. Medtech can be a key enabler.

I’m excited by the potential, but I’m also mindful of the advice we received during a panel I moderated at the MedTech Conference in Toronto with Lisa Earnhart, Executive VP and Group President of Medical Devices at Abbott, Tim Schmid, Executive VP and Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson MedTech and Dr. Kevin Smith. I can distill it down to three essential points about how to achieve productive partnerships, based on alignment of incentives, exchange of data and investment of resources.

1. When there’s clear alignment of incentives, partnerships are easy and can be informal. Perhaps it’s easier to think about them as collaborations, with a bit of an informal flavor. When a hospital system is identifying patients and driving volume, enhancing staff capability or driving capacity, for example, it’s not difficult to find opportunity for partnership. In fact, this is probably the easiest type of partnership that needs the least degree of formality.
2. A longer-term focus for partnerships, especially focused on population health and improving outcomes to reduce rehospitalizations, often requires exchange of data. This should not be trivialized. Considerations for data sharing are much broader than just privacy and HIPAA regulations but also represent true exchange of value. Data partnerships are not simple, but they’re critical to unlocking true value.
3. Lastly, some partnerships require investment. Obvious—but as we heard at the conference, hospital systems need to be thoughtful about how many, which and with whom. There is a limit to how many partnerships can be nurtured, especially the types that require unique investments. It will serve all parties to make fewer, but richer, partnerships.

A big thanks to my fellow panelists Lisa, Tim and Kevin for weighing in on how we can help solve the big challenges facing hospital systems.