MEDICA 2018 to focus on the latest worldwide medical endeavors and advances
For years, almost no other industry has been shaped so much by sustainable growth as the medical technology industry and its suppliers. Furthermore, there are practically no other industries in which it is so imperative to remain at the cutting edge of progress and gain information on new products, trends and technology, which are presented at the MEDICA trade fair in particular, a world-leading industry platform in this area.
The structure of the market is changing constantly. Even within specific regions of the world, the market situation can be radically different, depending on the nation, and the approval processes for medical technology systems and products can also differ from each other dramatically.
Taking a look at Europe illustrates this remarkably well. In Spain, Ireland and Romania, the sales curve for medical technology is on the up, thanks to widespread economic recovery and a need for investment that built up during the years of the credit crunch. Demand is also high in the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland.
However, in Germany, Italy and France, progress is slower than it could be—the key word here is “investment slowdown”. While austerity is creating obstacles within the healthcare systems here, the current political developments and subsequent currency deprecations in some places put the brakes on access to the market and businesses in Turkey and Russia. The upcoming Brexit also produces more obvious limitations.
One challenge that is faced across regions is increasingly strict regulation for product approval. This equally concerns both manufacturers and their suppliers, although smaller and middle-sized companies also have to put up a good fight against the obligation to fill out increasingly complex and comprehensive documents and create reports, which result from a multitude of EU directives and guidelines, for example the Medical Device Regulation or the REACH.
The MEDICA annual meeting by Messe Düsseldorf offers the communication and information platforms that have been tailored to meet specific needs in international information dissemination in healthcare.
For medical technology and products, this cycle is incredibly short. To give an example of its effects, German manufacturers gain a third of their turnover from products that are less than 3 years old. This means that MEDICA in Düsseldorf is a hotspot for the latest products and developments for service providers every year, all within the scope of current trends.
Currently, digital transformation is the primary force shaping the health economy and radically changing processes and business models worldwide. The program of events at MEDICA 2018 takes this into consideration, both in presenting product ranges from over 5,000 exhibitors from 70 countries and in the spectrum of topics covered at the accompanying conferences and forums.
The communication and information platforms, MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM and MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM (including the MEDICA App Competition), organized within the scope of MEDICA, attracted over 8,000 visitors last year and will definitely be popular segments this year.
The discussions, presentations and speeches in these forums will focus on essential digitalization and IT trends such as opportunities to implement artificial intelligence, big data analysis via algorithms and cybersecurity measures. Innovative products and technology will also be presented—from wearable technologies and telehealth to robotics and apps.
The main strength of MEDICA is that it does not limit itself solely to clinical and practice IT and the fairly rigid framework of the national telematics infrastructure. MEDICA encompasses digital trends and best practices for connecting stakeholders in the health industry that affect many nations. Already, it has become apparent that the theme of “Patient Empowerment”, i.e. the management of healthcare data being considered the responsibility of the patient, is becoming more significant this year.
Discussions at MEDICA 2018 should result in an answer to the question of how available the service providers in the health industry will make these types of digital solutions to patients. Aspects linked to this, such as the new HL7 FHIR—the standard for mobile communication in healthcare, or the economy platform’s attack on healthcare data, will thus be dealt with in the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM, for example.
Following its premiere in 2017, the MEDICA ACADEMY will be held again this year, as a certified further-education event for physicians from various medical fields. In addition to practical courses on devices (e.g. ultrasound) and updates on general medical diagnostics and therapeutic issues, digital topics will also be on the program, in the form of best practices for telemedicine.
Other program highlights at MEDICA 2018 will include the DiMiMED conference for disaster and military medicine and the MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE (both on Nov. 13 and 14 in the Congress Center Düsseldorf South) focusing on prevention and sports medical treatment concepts. The conferences will be held in English and are geared toward an international audience.
COMPAMED 2018 will again take place concurrently on all days of MEDICA 2018 in Halls 8a and 8b. With around 800 exhibitors, COMPAMED is the leading international market platform for suppliers of the medical technology industry. Last year, MEDICA and COMPAMED attracted 123,500 trade visitors from 130 countries.
