Read the Conversation
EF: What is your role at MedTech Polska, and what are the association's priorities for 2024?
DA: Medtech Poland has been operating in the Polish market for more than 20 years. Initially, it operated under a different name, IPDDL, and adopted the current one 6 years ago. We are an association that represents the IVD industry to regulatory bodies, scientific associations, and professional corporations for Laboratory Medicine, and we currently have 30 members operating in Poland and involved in research, development, production, distribution and import of products for Laboratory Medicine. Our members also include start-up companies, so-called start-ups, and several entities in the live science sector.
One of the most important areas of MedTech Poland's activity is the dissemination and deepening of knowledge about modern Laboratory Medicine - aimed at educating the patient and medical professionals, as well as communicating the great value of laboratory diagnostic information in the process of detection, monitoring, and treatment, a large part of our work is the development of opinions and positions for interpretation by the current government and decision-makers.
MedTech Europe is one of our strategic partners. MedTech Polska team participates in MedTech Europe working groups, preparing recommendations and statements for discussion with the government and stakeholders. We consult on almost all important issues, whether they originate locally or in the European Parliament, which affect all members of the European Union.
EF: How do you balance the priorities and interests of different members to achieve a common goal?
DA: At least twice a year, we meet with all members of the MedTech Poland Association to set and agree on the priorities that will be implemented in the next period, and review and evaluate the completed activities. When all members agree on the topics, we allocate a budget and begin to implement the provisions of our meeting. All members, through votes, decide on the next course of action. Patient well-being is our top priority, and we need to make sure that whatever we choose will ultimately benefit the patient, and the health system, and at the same time not jeopardize the interests of our members.
EF: What priorities and initiatives are currently pursuing?
DA: Our mission in 2024 is to provide a strong and meaningful expert voice for Medtech Poland in the area of laboratory medicine in the life science industry. We want to be a trusted partner to legislators, regulators, scientific organizations, professional corporations, and other stakeholders. Close relationships with all these entities will help us shape policy and develop the right atmosphere and health climate for the development of laboratory medicine now and in the future.
Our second priority is to promote the highest ethical standards in the laboratory diagnostics community among suppliers and customers. We strive to convince all our members and their partners to work with only the highest ethical standards in training activities, medical education, and professional relationships with healthcare professionals. The pharmaceutical industry implemented high moral standards several years ago, and now it's time for the laboratory medicine industry to do the same with healthcare professionals.
Our final priority for this year is to work with policymakers and experts in public health and the medical world to help the new government transform the healthcare system into one based on value-based healthcare by strengthening the role of lab medicine in primary care. Early diagnosis of diseases of civilization and undertaking treatment in the early stages of disease can significantly affect the health situation of future generations while optimizing financial expenditures. In other words, we conclude in favor of inverting the pyramid of health benefits and promoting preventive medicine with a basket of restorative medicine. This will be difficult because there is a very low awareness of the importance of prevention in both the public and medical personnel, and thus a lack of prioritization of early detection of diseases and lack of funds for the implementation of broad preventive measures and standards and matching medical services in primary health care.
EF: What do you think about the local manufacturing industry and the importance of investing in Poland?
DA: The Polish lab diagnostics market is the fifth largest in Europe and continues to grow. It is growing dynamically and steadily despite the lack of adequate reimbursement from the government. We have a low percentage contribution of GDP to health care. For example, each Pole receives only 11 euros per capita per year. This compares with 50 to 80 euros per year in Western countries. Current healthcare systems work with a limited healthcare system budget, leading to less investment in research and laboratory diagnostics development. This lack of investment explains why we have a limited local IVD industry. Fortunately, this situation is slowly changing in the right direction. Several small start-ups have already emerged and are trying to survive in a difficult environment and strong competition from large pharmaceutical companies.
To make things better, a comprehensive support program is needed, for example through various types of incentives, tax reliefs as well as easier access to financial tools. We need faster and cheaper access to bodies certifying higher-class IVD products. We don't have any in Poland yet, and foreign bodies have so many IVD products to be certified in their countries that they don't want to deal with products from Poland, or the price of certification is so high that after It is simply not profitable to introduce a new solution to the market. What we are fighting for is to increase the budget for diagnostic tests and change the model of their financing in primary health care, so that a doctor with a small budget per patient (currently only PLN 204 per year) does not have a dilemma; Should he send the patient for an ultrasound or X-ray or order laboratory tests or spend it on other needs in the medical center.
The next task ahead of us is to support the health care system in the transition to an evaluation system based on the information value of the services provided (Value-Based Health Care), but this is rather a thing of the future. This will be a big challenge because it is difficult to promote Quality or early Targeted Diagnostics in a system based on tenders mainly in hospitals and with a dominance of 60-90% of the price.
Currently, we have a system based on the valuation of a medical procedure without a separate budget for Diagnostics without obligatory diagnostic tests and without the possibility of modifying the medical procedure depending on the advancement of the disease, e.g. to shorten the patient's stay.
EF: What do you think will be the AI and technology trends for 2024?
DA: Artificial intelligence is an exciting topic and we are always discussing it. Artificial intelligence is seen mainly in diagnostic imaging medical devices, but rarely in the laboratory. New technology such as artificial intelligence will eventually make its way to the lab. AI will be present in an increasing number of products and Med departments. Laboratory as Support for Diagnostics and Doctors, Pathologists, Cytologists, Hematologists, Oncologists, BioGeneticists, and Bioinformaticians, especially in the face of staff shortages and we will need to implement it due to the shortage of skilled workers. There are fewer and fewer experts on our market and only artificial intelligence can replace such knowledge in the industry.
The opportunity should be noticed by decision-makers and producers who have a huge opportunity to develop their business, especially since we have a lot of excellent and highly qualified experts, scientists and talented, creative and hard-working young Entrepreneurs
We are keeping a close eye on AI technology and have provided feedback to our previous government on its impact on our sector.
We will need to work with our new government on artificial intelligence and help direct what needs to be done to implement it in our diagnostic business in the best and most effective way possible that will not threaten the healthcare system.
EF: Do you have any final messages for our readers?
DA: I would like to implore people to focus on their health and, where possible, take preventive measures to avoid future pandemics and diseases. Pandemics and new diseases have become a problem that we try to fight despite limited knowledge, funds and lack of time.
A few years ago, together with Deloitte, we developed a report on cost-effectiveness in laboratory medicine, in which we show that investing in prevention pays off, and so, for example, increasing the number of diagnostic tests by 25% to detect diabetes or chronic kidney disease can significantly improve the health of Poles by undertaking early treatment or preventive measures for people diagnosed with a health problem as a result of the examination, and thus improve the condition of the health service and generate significant savings for the health system, thus limiting the use of remedial medicine - Hospitalization and indirect costs such as lower productivity, premature mortality, burden third parties. In Europe, over 20% of children already suffer from obesity, the most common complication of which is diabetes, in 10 years 50% of Americans will be obese, and in 10 years chronic kidney disease will kill every third person in Europe - such terrifying statistics and prospects tell us to act quickly and decisively.
