The Nordic Market Access Leaders Forum

Medtech4Health participated in the Nordic Market Access Leaders Forum in Stockholm on 18th and 19th April

The Nordic Market Access Leaders Forum is arranged by Next Level Life Sciences.

The first day of the Forum focused on pharma. On the second day there was a separate track for medtech: “Medical Device Market Access Challenges in the Nordics”. Under this title, the focus was on the structure and position of the Nordic market by comparison with other markets, and on how new medical devices are being introduced to the market. There were many speakers from health authorities, the industry, and from regulatory experts. Among the speakers from Medtech4Health were Reidar Gårdebäck and Lena Svendsen.

Reidar Gårdebäck presented Medtech4Health and talked about how the programme stimulates the implementation of innovations in healthcare. He also focused on eHealth with examples, showing how far the Nordic countries have come in introducing innovative eHealth systems.

Lena Svendsen, from SwedishMedtech and a project leader for Medtech4Health, presented the Innovation Engines project and the way this initiative focuses on co-operation between regional healthcare authorities and the medtech industry.

Among other speakers connected with Medtech4Health was Göran Larsson, Director of Research and Education in the Jämtland/Härjedalen healthcare authority. Göran Larsson is also a board member of Medtech4Health. Göran presented the creation of an eHealth centre in Östersund. (Link to Swedish language website). The eHealth centre is a unique facility where municipal and regional healthcare providers and the medtech industry are co-located to enhance patient care in the region.

The day ended in a panel discussion and we could all draw the conclusion that, while there remain many challenges, there are also very many promising initiatives to assist us in overcoming them. In addition to all the knowledge exchanged and the rewarding discussions we shared, we also established the sort of new contacts, with accompanying networking opportunities, which are always a positive take away from these types of conferences.

The next upcoming event with a similar focus will take place in Berlin in the beginning of December 2018. We hope Medtech4Health will be able to participate also on that occasion.