There is a new patient pathway emerging and it could transform healthcare. Are you ready?

The healthcare landscape, particularly in the UK is undergoing a transformation toward a "new patient pathway".

This new pathway characterised by a shift in care settings and a reliance on technological convergence to deliver holistic patient outcomes.

Policy vision and direction

The UK's policy framework, including the NHS 10-year plan and the medium-term planning framework, outlines a strategic direction for the health and life science sector (which includes pharma, MedTech, and HealthTech).

The key ambitions for the new patient pathway are:

• Moving care: A shift toward population health.

• Decentralisation: Delivering care "outside hospital, into the community".

• Prevention focus: Placing greater emphasis on prevention

This new direction, however, currently exists alongside short-term cost-cutting and organisational consolidation, creating a sense of confusion and uncertainty for the industry in the immediate term.

The reality: Convergence in the patient pathway

To achieve the desired long-term outcomes, the new patient pathway necessitates the convergence of technology and cooperation between traditionally separate industries. This collaboration allows for synergistic treatments that integrate multiple components to improve adherence and enable personalised medicine.

Three specific examples illustrate how this integrated pathway functions:

1. Type 2 diabetes

• Early intervention/diagnostics: MedTech tools, such as AI scanning Electronic Health Record (EHR) data or retinal images, are used for risk stratification to identify high-risk patients earlier than standard screening, triggering proactive care.

• Acute management: This phase is typically pharma dominated, involving prescribed drugs to manage blood glucose.

• Optimisation and adherence: This is supported by MedTech (e.g., Continuous Glucose Monitors or CGMs) paired with digital therapeutics (like an app providing tailored advice, reminders, and motivation).

• System monitoring: Data collected around adherence, activity, and blood glucose is aggregated and shared, allowing the provider to adjust the pharma dosage remotely. This integrated loop creates value for all stakeholders, from better adherence for pharma to better quality of life for the patient and payer.

2. Chronic Respiratory Diseases (e.g., Asthma or COPD)

• These pathways combines a smart inhaler (MedTech) that tracks usage, the drug being administered, and a digital therapeutic (app) offering adherence and self-management education. The combined value includes improved adherence, fewer exacerbations, and measurable cost savings and quality gains for commissioners.

3. Weight loss/ obesity

• The success of new medication is attributed to the "entire ecosystem... created around it with digital therapeutics," which supports patients with behaviour change for long-term success.

Industry imperatives for the new pathway

For innovators, navigating this new environment requires a deep understanding of the patient pathway:

Pathway fit: Companies must determine "where its device fits in the pathway".

Pathway influence: Strategy must address whether a "change in the pathway [is] required" or how the company can "positively influence and shape guidelines" together with clinicians and payers.

Holistic evidence: Companies must demonstrate not only clinical effectiveness but also the broader benefits for the entire health system, including health economics, productivity gains, and improved patient experience, as simple product-focused sales are no longer sufficient.

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This content is based on a conversation between Matthias Winker and Ray Collis from GrowthPitstop. You can listen to the full conversation and the other topics we discussed here.

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