Economic benefits of global Collaborative Health technology

KEYWORDS:

• Global collaboration
• Health technology
• International health economy
• Outcome research

1. Introduction

Health technology (HT) is defined as ‘application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and

improve quality of lives’ [1]. These products range

from vaccines, medicines, and devices designed to help smokers quit to diagnostic tools including blood tests and imaging; treatment tools include insulin pumps, prosthetic limbs and electronic health records, as well as management solutions like telemedicine or electronic health records. This industry has seen rapid expansion worldwide with forecasted revenue of USD 939.54 Billion expected by 2032 [2].

As healthcare technology (HT) becomes more reliant on digital technologies, its development becomes vulnerable to cyber-attacks that may steal or disrupt healthcare services as well as sensitive patient data [3,4]. A second challenge of integrating HT involves insufficient training of healthcare professionals on its use effectively and safely [4]. It is important to train healthcare professionals, especially for technologies still under development. Thirdly, compliance regulations often prove complex and time consuming which discourages its creation or use. Fourthly, data integrity needs to be ensured as inaccurate or compromised data could impede effectiveness [4].

The economic burden of HT hinders its advancement, given the cost associated with designing, adopting, upgrading, and maintaining it, particularly among countries and organizations with limited resources.

Global collaboration in HT is a promising strategy to overcome these obstacles, because it may allow countries to pool expertise and knowledge together in order to address common problems more easily. In addition, it encourages cost-sharing, development of universal standards, and harmonization of regulations. However, its economic advantages have been rarely addressed in the literature. Therefore, this editorial aims to highlight the economic challenges facing HT and the economic benefits of global collaboration in HT

2. Economic challenges in health technology

Adoption and widespread implementation of HT face several economic barriers [4–6];

1. Research and development costs.

2. Developing new health technologies is expensive and takes considerable resources in terms of clinical trials and regulatory compliance as well as manufacturing which makes commercializing innovations challenging for small companies or start-ups lacking funding to bring innovations to market.

3. Research and development costs tend to drive up overall price increases making such innovations less accessible across regions or among those who may lack sufficient financial means.

4. Errors made by HT can have serious economic consequences. Such mistakes may lead to incorrect diagnoses and treatments, requiring unnecessary medical procedures, and increasing healthcare costs. Technology failures that disrupt operations can cause disruptions in healthcare services and decrease productivity. This will result in revenue losses. Data breaches and privacy issues arising from technology errors in health care can also incur substantial financial costs. These include regulatory fines, and the need to enhance security measures for patient trust.

5. As part of HT investments, maintenance, and updates represent another financial consideration. Once implemented, health technologies require ongoing maintenance to maintain optimal performance, security, and compatibility with ever-evolving healthcare practices. The cost of maintenance can vary depending on how complex the technology is, the support needed, and the life expectancy of the equipment. Health organizations and institutions should allocate sufficient funds for ongoing maintenance to extend and ensure reliability in investments made into healthcare technologies.

6. Regular updates in health technology are crucial in its fast-evolving field, often serving to address security vulnerabilities, enhance functionality, and incorporate advances in medical knowledge and practices. Failing to keep health technologies current may result in compatibility issues, compromised security measures, and suboptimal performance which reduce their effectiveness, as well as adding costs over time.

7. Another obstacle lies in the absence of global standards for interoperability and data exchange. A lack of standardized protocols and systems impedes seamless integration of health technologies across different countries and healthcare settings, hampering efficient information sharing as well as harnessing all the potential of health data for research, population health management, and personalized medicine.

8. Socioeconomic factors also exacerbate economic difficulties by restricting access to health technology across regions, compounding economic inequities. Poverty, inequality, and political instability all pose barriers that limit availability and affordability of health technologies in low resource settings; this results in quality healthcare being delivered less reliably and perpetuates health inequities.

3. Conclusion

Although effective utilization of HT presents many obstacles, global collaboration has become essential. Collaboration offers multiple economic benefits for patients, health systems, and researchers, such as reduced costs, market expansion, and revenue growth as well as job creation, making further research in this area essential to develop mechanisms which facilitate and strengthen this collaboration.

4. Expert opinion

This editorial offers remarkable insights on the economic benefits derived from global cooperation in HT. This type of collaboration can have a positive impact on patients, researchers, and health systems.

I believe that joint efforts in health technology (HT) can bring tremendous advantages for patients, enabling them to access innovative treatments and save money, some of which might not even be available in their home countries (Table 1). For example, telemedicine and remote monitoring technology allow for virtual consultations and monitoring, thereby eliminating costly in-person visits. Hence, patients will be able to receive clinicians’ opinions and follow-up care from anywhere around the globe without incurring travel expenses.

Table 1. Economic benefits of global collaboration in health technology.

Economic Benefits	Mechanism/Steps	Description	Category
Cost-sharing	Collaborative funding agreements and resource allocation	Collaborative efforts allow countries to pool resources and expertise, reducing the financial burden on each	Health Systems
Development of universal standards	Standardization committees and policy alignment	Global collaboration facilitates the harmonization of regulations, interoperability, and data exchange standards	Health Systems
Reduction of healthcare costs	Avoidance of duplicate investments and shared breakthroughs	Avoiding duplication of investments and breakthroughs leads to cost savings in infrastructure and technology	Health Systems
Streamlining regulatory processes	Harmonization of regulatory frameworks and mutual recognition	Harmonizing regulatory frameworks and aligning standards eliminate redundant approvals, reducing time and costs	Health Systems
Market expansion	Joint development partnerships and market access strategies	Joint development and commercialization of health technologies enable access to larger markets	Health Systems
Revenue growth	Coordinated marketing and distribution efforts	Coordinated marketing strategies and wider distribution channels can result in increased sales and revenue	Health Systems
Job creation	Collaboration in research, development, and manufacturing	Collaborative efforts create opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and job growth in the industry	Health Systems
Improved resource allocation and lowered costs	Sharing of best practices and knowledge exchange	Global collaboration enables early and more accurate diagnoses, targeted treatments, and reduced hospitalizations	Patients
Increased research opportunities and funding	Funding programs and collaborative research initiatives	Collaboration provides access to resources, funding, expertise, and knowledge exchange for innovative projects	Researchers
Enhanced patient outcomes	Adoption of evidence-based protocols and clinical guidelines	Global collaboration promotes evidence-based protocols, improved medication adherence, and reduced readmissions	Patients

Specifically, these efforts will also reduce the need for patients to travel abroad for medical care, thus lessening their financial burden associated with such travel. I believe that serving patients in their home country instead of abroad will help them saving airfare, accommodation costs, and other expenses related to international treatment and expertise. These benefits can particularly benefit those with limited financial resources who would otherwise face significant obstacles in seeking international specialized care.

Moreover, such a joined agenda among healthcare teams worldwide allows for the development and implementation of cost-effective treatments by lowering production and manufacturing costs, making treatments more affordable and accessible to people worldwide. Furthermore, such efforts help standardize practices and establish evidence-based protocols for treatments, which may improve patient safety while decreasing unnecessary expenses or interventions.

These efforts can have indirect financial advantages for patients, including improved medication adherence and decreased hospital readmissions. One such collaboration that is providing these patients with financial benefit is the Global Health Technology Coalition (GHTC) [7]. The GHTC, an alliance of private and public organizations, is dedicated to accelerating the development and delivery innovative health technologies in low- and medium-income countries. Patients benefit from affordable treatment, lower healthcare costs and improved health outcomes through the development of life-saving vaccinations, the negotiation and reduction of medication prices and training programs. The GHTC played a major role in the development of the Malaria vaccine, to name a few of their achievements. The coalition has also managed to negotiate lower prices for dolutegravir (an HIV drug), making it more affordable for people living with HIV [7].

Global collaboration in HT can offer multiple economic benefits to health systems. This could lead to an improvement in the overall quality of care and resilience of healthcare globally. The cross-border collaboration on HT will result in a reduction of healthcare costs including infrastructure development, technology acquisition, and regulatory processes. This is due primarily to the avoided duplication of investments and the faster pace of breakthroughs that lead to resource savings.

The streamlining of regulatory processes and reducing costs of HT are examples of the benefits of harmonizing regulatory frameworks and aligning standards. One example is the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA), which announced with the European Commission (EC) in 2021 the regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on HTA with the goal of enhancing the accessibility of innovative health technologies, including medicines and specific medical devices, for patients in the EU [8]. The European HTA Regulation ensures the effective utilization of resources and enhances quality throughout Europe. Additionally, it will aid in creating a fair evaluation system for innovative products, thus preventing competition between countries and jurisdiction-shopping practices. These efforts offer an effective solution for countering this practice, whether direct or indirect. Implementation of HTA regulation will help in ensuring fairness when it comes to determining the value and pricing of new technologies, taking into account considerations like health product reimbursement. This aspect of regulation has great advantages for stakeholders, since owners of fairly valued new technologies can maximize their profit potential when selling these products [3]

Global collaboration could also prove advantageous to market expansion. It can bring health systems benefits such as joint development and commercialization of their products or services.

Global collaboration in HT improves not only patient outcomes but also reaps significant economic advantages. Health systems can take advantage of innovative technologies by working together, leading to early and more accurate diagnoses, targeted treatments, and reduced hospitalizations, ultimately saving on resource use, population health improvement, and healthcare system savings in terms of long-term economic gains from optimizing resource allocation and lowering healthcare costs.

International collaboration in HTs provides pharmaceutical companies with more efficient processes as it encourages harmonization of standards between countries and regions, speeding up market entry by reducing regulatory approval times and costs, while taking advantage of partners’ marketing and distribution networks. This enables coordinated marketing strategies, shared costs, and wider distribution channels.

Research outcomes can also be benefited from global collaborations in HT. Researchers and organizations receive resources, funding, and expertise, which enable them to explore innovative approaches and take on ambitious projects; knowledge exchange accelerates, keeping researchers on the leading edge of their respective fields; collaboration can increase publication and citation impacts which open doors to funding opportunities and career advancement; successful collaborations can even lead to commercialization that foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.

Declaration of interests

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

The paper was not funded.