Ashley McEvoy is an industry veteran and the EVP and worldwide chair of Johnson & Johnson MedTech. Michael Minogue, another veteran, serves as chair, president and CEO of heart pump maker Abiomed.
Together, the two bring a wealth of medtech industry knowledge to the table. They demonstrated that in a “CEOs Unplugged” discussion at AdvaMed’s The MedTech Conference today.
McEvoy and Minogue joined Boston Consulting Group Managing Director and Senior Partner Barry Rosenberg onstage to discuss major medtech trends. The two went in-depth on five that they see in the industry right now: AI, health equity, hospital care, talent and climate change.
Here is more about the five trends:
1. AI
McEvoy said there is discussion over the potential framework for how to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). It’s a hot topic, both at the conference and in the overall medtech space.
What the industry wants, she said, is to reduce variability in procedures. That brings more predictable outcomes at a lower cost. She said that, at Johnson & Johnson, they do that now.
“Using some real lifetime data management, you can get a much more personalized effect,” McEvoy said. “Even in knee procedures, 20% of patients are dissatisfied with their outcomes. So, just changing that variability from 20% down to plus or minus 1% would make a significant difference for folks. But, we’re really at the early inning and need to have the right environment as an industry to get make sure that privacy is protected and cybersecurity is OK. [We need to make sure] that we can get the throughput and volume that we want to be able to allow, again, a reduction in the variability of procedures.”
Minogue said that Abiomed takes patient data (including heart rate, pressure and pulse). The company transmits that information from sensors into the cloud and runs algorithms on it.
The predictions it produces help the physician make the important decision of when to wean the patient off the heart so the patient can not only live but go home with their own heart, he said.
“That’s how we transform medicine — with this information,” he explained. “AI can beat 99.9% of the world’s population in chess. So, why would we not want that brain power in the ICU for the physicians and the nurses?”
2. Health equity
“I think we have work to do on health equity,” McEvoy said. “The data is now becoming much more transparent.”
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted patients who weren’t receiving care, she noted.
What the medtech industry can now do — as its aim is to make a difference for patients — is understand what type of intervention can help to change the outcomes.
“It’s not a one size fits all, but we have personalization, so I’m optimistic when I think about representation,” McEvoy said. “I think about clinical evidence and science, and I think about innovation, and when I say modernization, this is what I mean: access and impact for all.”
Rosenberg mentioned a New York Times report during the earlier stages of the pandemic that indicated that pulse oximeters are more error-prone with Black patients. Minogue said non-caucasian patients perform worse in the cardiac world “across the board.”
Abiomed is launching a program to allow hospitals in rural areas or inner cities to ensure that Medicaid patients receiving the biggest benefit have access to its technology.
“We’re working with the political programs so that the hospitals don’t end up with an issue,” said Minogue. “We have to do that collectively as a company but also as an industry so that more companies can do these programs.”
3. Hospital care
Both McEvoy and Minogue touched on the “resilience” of hospitals. With the impact of COVID-19, Minogue said one important thing came through the hospital system.
He used Massachusetts General Hospital as an example. It filled up as the “COVID hub,” he said, forcing other hospitals in the area to step up and treat patients, too.
According to Minogue, this is a good trend, because those hospitals can now treat some of the emergency patients or even elective patients that once were bound for Mass General. They receive the proper training and can now take on some heightened patient numbers coming in.
“It’s quite remarkable, the resilience of our healthcare systems,” McEvoy said. “We all have to help our hospital systems on staffing, on fatigue, on mental health and on new partnerships for value-based care, because they’re a little burnt out right now, and they need a little bit of TLC.”
4. Talent
Minogue said the main aspect of retaining talent is simply getting the best out of your team. One way to do that is “make it fun.”
Abiomed kept about 40% of its workforce in the office through the pandemic. He said the company put in walking trails on its campus and brought in food trucks. Minogue also reduced meetings by 40%.
He said his team called him crazy when he didn’t put up executives in hotels when they come to town. Instead, he has them stay at the homes of other executives. Minogue joked that they “didn’t have to share bathrooms” with his son, but it fosters a stronger environment among the talent at the company.
“That’s something that you want to do,” Minogue said of the sort of bonding effort. “That’s what’s what we call Abiomed together.”
McEvoy said attracting talent revolves around the alignment of personal and professional values. She said that when a person has them together, “you’re absolutely unstoppable.”
Simply put, she said: “We need each other to go affect patient outcomes.”
“We need to kind of always remind the next generation of what our purpose is,” said McEvoy. “What’s our calling? Invite them into that and then also give access. … Diversity of our workforce is a big deal. Both from a generational point of view and from a diversity of experience point of view.”
5. Climate change
“A healthy planet equals healthy people,” said McEvoy. “The data, the science is out there.”
That’s one area where “we haven’t figured this all out,” McEvoy said: climate. Johnson & Johnson’s efforts are at the forefront, she said. For instance, 100% of the company’s Acuvue contact lenses are made from renewable energy.
McEvoy explained that the next generation expects this type of effort from companies. Thus, companies must approach it in “a thoughtful manner.”
“I’m encouraged to see healthcare going to a healthy planet,” she said.