Why Europe needs to transform health through digital: A conversation with our newest members Roche and Lilly
Digital health solutions are driving more personalised care and better disease monitoring and prevention. We sat down with André Trottier from Roche and Paul Huibers from Lilly to discuss what’s next for digitally transformed healthcare in Europe.
Digital solutions have great potential to improve access to and quality of healthcare. These range from addressing the shortage of doctors in rural areas to encouraging the shift to disease monitoring and prevention enabled by health data. In the longer term, these developments will be crucial to lower treatment costs and improve quality of life of an aging population.
Recently, DIGITALEUROPE had the pleasure of welcoming among our members two healthcare companies – Roche and Lilly – which are pioneering digital solutions in drug discovery and personalised healthcare. The central role that digital technologies are playing in this sector is unquestionable, as 75 percent of patients across the globe expect to use digital services in the future.
Roche: digital health will ensure unique, personalized care for everyone
Convergence of medical knowledge, technology and data science is revolutionising patient care – and Roche is spearheading this approach. We spoke to André Trottier, Global Head for Personalised Healthcare Policy at Roche, about how personalised healthcare is transforming patients’ lives.
What is the role of digital in personalised care?
“The complexity of human biology is staggering. Every person is unique and, in many ways, so are diseases. Digital transformation in healthcare provides new ways to both collect high-quality data from each patient and connect it to data from large pools of other patients for AI-based analysis. This enables us to arrive at a deeper understanding of how to treat an individual through personalised (and thus improved) care. Real-world evidence, molecular information generated from next-generation sequencing, data from wearable devices and mobile apps and novel clinical trials are transforming the future of care.”
Can you tell us why have you decided to join DIGITALEUROPE?
“DIGITALEUROPE is a powerful voice and a positive, constructive partner in Europe. We support its vision of a European Union that nurtures and supports digital technology industries, the innovation and economic benefits we deliver, and the societal challenges we address. We very much look forward to contributing to its pioneering policy work in digital health. DIGITALEUROPE reflects both the life science and technology sectors perspectives which enables them to foster enhanced collaboration between sectors to advance Digital Health in Europe.”
Lilly: digital health solutions need an innovative, empowering environment
Tech innovations are driving Lilly’s discovery across its core therapeutic areas, including diabetes, oncology, immunology, pain and neurodegeneration. We discussed with Paul Huibers, Senior Director of Digital Health at Lilly International, about how the increasing use of digital is improving health outcomes.
What is the future of digital technologies in the healthcare sector?
“Now more than ever, we see an increasing appetite for a much broader technology adoption by healthcare systems, healthcare professionals and patients. Lilly’s digital health strategy has three pillars: developing high-quality digitally-enabled products and solutions, personalising insights and improving data, and demonstrating value.”
What are the digital health priorities in terms of EU regulation?
“As Lilly and others bring new digital health solutions to market, stakeholders want solutions that take the ecosystem into consideration from a more holistic perspective. Interoperability and the health data space are crucial to the future of digital health.”
Can you tell us why have you decided to join DIGITALEUROPE?
“Alongside our collaborations with some of the most innovative tech companies, our partnership with DIGITALEUROPE will help contribute to building the right regulatory and policy environment that supports innovation, empowers patients and helps people achieve better health.”
