The future unmasked

Each prediction is brought to life through snapshots of how patients, healthcare and life science companies and their staff might behave and operate in this new world. We explore the major trends and the key constraints to be overcome; and identify the evidence today to predict how near that future might be.

This year, inevitably, our predictions have been informed by the unparalleled impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in general and more specifically on how people perceive health risks. We have seen a new public appreciation of the contribution that healthcare and life sciences companies are making to each country’s response and how these companies are paving the way for a new era of collaboration to identify and implement solutions. A key stand out has been the huge acceleration in the pace and scale of technology-enabled transformation across the whole health ecosystem.

In this report we explore the following 10 predictions:
       1.    From health (care) to healthy aging
       2.    Better public health drives better productivity
       3.    Clinicians are empowered by new diagnostic and treatment paradigms
       4.    The who, what and where of work rearchitected
       5.    Care is designed around people not place
       6.    MedTech and IoMT are crucial drivers of value-based care
       7.    Companies have reversed the decline in the returns from pharma R&D
       8.    Next generation supply chains are integrated into healthcare and the patient experience
       9.    Healthcare and Life Sciences companies have prioritised decarbonisation
       10.  Clusters of trusted partnerships have accelerated innovation

An African Perspective

Limited resource allocation towards health in Africa has led to the poorest health outcomes globally. Privately funded segments of the market often track with European and American progress but are still limited by the small market and disparate distribution across the continent. For the majority of Africa to fully access equitable health, innovative and efficient solutions are required to address challenges that other markets do not share.

Increased digitisation and adoption of such technology affords the continent the opportunity to leapfrog certain infrastructure investments on the road to achieving better health outcomes. In this summary, we look at four predictions impacting the African Healthcare and life Sciences landscape:
       • Digital procurement and localisation to improve access
       • Diagnostic and treatment innovation to improve health outcomes
       • IoMT to improve health outcomes with less resource requirements
       • Increased public and private partnerships to drive progress