With patients demanding better customer experiences and pharma companies facing increasing pressure to improve outcomes, the need for the healthcare sector to innovate has never been greater.
And that means there is a greater need for smart solutions. An article in the current edition of Forbes online highlights four examples of how this can be achieved through crowdsourcing initiatives.
They are:
1) Crowdsourcing research and discovery: turning to the crowd for help in numerous areas of research with DNA testing companies like 23andMe and Gene by Gene providing pharma companies with opportunities to collaborate with patients to find genetic causes and markers for common diseases such as diabetes and prostate cancer.
2) Raising capital to fund promising new ventures: for example, Ixcela turned to equity crowdfunding to raise funds to develop its proprietary technology to identify imbalances in the gut biome. Its plan is to offer over-the-counter gut health tests.
3) Inspire Entrepreneurial Thinking: an Accenture report on digital disruption discovered that “only 19% of legacy organizations have complete confidence in their operating models’ ability to keep pace.” Accenture pointed out: “in today’s world, speed is more important than scale.” Hence more life sciences companies and health systems are embracing open innovation.
4) Identify The Most Important Unmet Medical Need: some organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA) consult with patients, caregivers, clinicians and researchers to identify the highest priorities for research.
To read the full article, Four Ways Crowdosurcing Drives Health Care Innovation, click here.