Roland Berger study sees 10,000 new jobs and 15 billion euros in digital sales in the next ten years / 98 percent of companies expect more political support.
Digitalization offers great opportunities not only for medical devices and services, but also in the companies themselves. Above all, it will benefit patients, for example through new diagnostic or therapeutic options.
The digitization of the healthcare industry holds enormous opportunities: According to a study published today by the management consultancy Roland Berger, the medical technology industry will have great potential in terms of sales and jobs in the coming years. But the chances would be even greater, the policy would now create appropriate conditions.
The study, which was presented at MEDICA and commissioned by the industry association SPECTARIS and Messe Düsseldorf, is based on a survey of more than 200 medical technology companies as well as numerous other expert interviews with suppliers, start-ups, representatives of the cash register and politics.
According to forecasts, the medical technology companies will achieve sales of 15 billion euros in the year 2028 alone with digital products and services, currently there are still 3.3 billion euros.
“This corresponds to an annual increase in sales of 16 percent in this segment,” emphasizes SPECTARIS Managing Director Jörg Mayer. “Should this increase occur, almost one-third of the revenues generated by digital products will be generated in 2028. There is no doubt that this is the future, because medical products and services without digital components are likely to be the exception rather than the rule in the future.”
Digitization offers great opportunities not only for the products but also for the companies themselves. “We see the greatest potential here in the area of research and development,” explains Thilo Kaltenbach, Senior Partner at Roland Berger. “Thanks to innovative technologies, the development times of new products can be considerably shortened, which also increases the productivity of companies.”
Despite this increase in efficiency, the surveyed companies expect net job creation, up to eight percent over the next five to ten years.
“Over the next few years, more than 10,000 additional jobs could be created,” says Jörg Mayer, but he also emphasizes: “It will not be easy to fill these positions, too. Above all, digitization will benefit the patients, for example through new diagnostic or therapeutic options. Almost every third person expects to improve the quality of care over the next five years, and almost two-thirds of respondents over the next ten years with easier access to specialized know-how, such as being able to virtually consult experts from neighboring university clinics or even abroad from complicated operations.”
