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Interview with Dr. Bernd Montag

In this interview with B20, Dr. Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthineers, underlines the reasons for introducing and keeping health on the G20 Agenda, the areas of the industry where it is crucial for businesses to innovate, and how digitalization affects the future of health-care service providers.

Why do you think it is important that Global Health is placed prominently on the G20 agenda?

There are several aspects to be considered. Healthcare is one of the most legislated and regulated industries globally, primarily by national authorities. However, healthcare trends like consolidation or health management ask for a global approach.

A healthy population is essential for sustainable economic growth in any country: global challenges like the aging population, longer life expectancy and the increase of chronic diseases require globally coordinated solutions.

Making global health a regular subject on the G20 agenda should therefore be of crucial interest for the G20 countries from a social and economic perspective.

 

What are the most important fields for health services companies to innovate medical products for the future?

With increased patient volumes and fewer staff, rapid scientific progress, growing consumerism, and value-based compensation models, the healthcare industry is changing. These challenges drive healthcare providers to rethink their business models and seek new solutions to lower costs. There are three trends emerging around how providers can control risk, meet demands, and provide quality care: consolidation, standardization and managing health.

Technology manufacturers play a key role as the reliable partner for healthcare providers trying to cope with the transformation in healthcare. Paramount are a deep understanding of the entire continuum of care, a comprehensive portfolio covering prevention, diagnosis, and therapy, as well as the size and financial power to share entrepreneurial risks to make healthcare providers succeed in enabling better outcomes at lower costs.

 

How is digitalization changing the nature of health care?

Digitalization is the key to managing the shift towards value-based care: The popularity of mobile technologies like wearable help patients being more involved in their own health. Then there is telemedicine. New digital technologies allow providers to monitor patients in their homes and cut down the number and duration of hospital stays. Artificial intelligence, while in the early stages, is helping providers to analyze the increase of patient data to improve the quality and value of patient care, guide surgery and more.

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