Connecting the Dots: Sarah Valentine and Ventsislav Dobrev Discuss Transforming Patient Care Through Collaborative Health Innovations

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the potential of advancing connected health technologies to transform patient care and treatment outcomes is unprecedented. These innovations, spanning telemedicine, wearable devices, and remote monitoring, are breaking down traditional silos and have the potential to improve care and reduce costs. To realize these benefits, we must advance strong cross-disciplinary collaboration. By breaking down silos between clinicians, developers, technologists, regulators, payers, and researchers, connected health will open new opportunities. In this Q&A, Sarah Valentine (SV), Partnerships Lead at the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), talks with Ventsislav Dobrev (VD), Global Lead Digital Health at Ypsomed, about the benefits, challenges, and future of connected health.

Sarah Valentine (DiMe): YpsoMed has been at the forefront of connected health. Can you share a little about the company’s early connected health innovations and how they have progressed?

Ventsislav Dobrev (Ypsomed): Ypsomed’s mission is to simplify self-care at home, and we are pioneering the approach of device-enabled digital health solutions. This approach combines drug delivery devices with advanced connectivity features and a comprehensive digital solution, allowing for robust therapy data collection and monitoring and management of the drug administration process and the disease. The archetype of such a solution includes several interconnected components: the connected injection device, patient mobile app, cloud-based digital health services, and onward solutions for clinicians, pharma, and other stakeholders. The seamless integration of all components is critical in ensuring a high-quality connected health solution.

We have developed several digital therapy management solutions of this kind, and we aim to release them soon in clinics.

SV: What are some of the barriers that inhibit moving these innovations into the market? What’s needed to create a sustainable path forward for connected health technologies and develop a commercially sustainable model to integrate these solutions into a holistic tech stack?

VD: Many barriers are ahead of us, but I am positive we can overcome them and create a sustainable model for connected health. First, cross-border regulations pose a challenge to global expansion due to variations in regulatory frameworks across countries, making scalability difficult. International harmonization in regulations is crucial to address this issue.

Second, the healthcare system is often characterized by misaligned incentives. Most systems still function in a transactional manner, with value-based care models being the exception. To improve connected patient care, a rapid shift towards value-based care is necessary to align the interests of all stakeholders involved. Additionally, technical barriers, such as the lack of interoperability and standardized protocols, complicate the integration of newer technologies with legacy provider systems. Addressing these technical issues will be vital for progress.

Social barriers exist, particularly in underserved communities and rural areas, where there is a significant gap in access to connected health technologies. This digital divide needs to be addressed through advocacy for more education and making key infrastructure capabilities, like internet access, more affordable.

SV: Specifically, with regard to a sustainable, long-term solution, how are regulators and payers thinking about connected health technologies today? How can the industry broadly work to align its needs with the innovative research and technology development being done right now?

VD: To effectively align the development of connected health technologies with the needs of regulators and payers, the industry should prioritize a collaborative approach by engaging with these stakeholders early in the process. It is essential to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of new technologies through high-quality clinical trials and real-world evidence designs.

The focus should be on establishing the right industry data standards and ensuring seamless integration of point solutions within the entire ecosystem. Additionally, aligning with regulators and payers on value-based care and innovative reimbursement models will foster a supportive environment for connected health advancements.

By working closely with regulators and payers, aligning technological development with their needs, and focusing on measurable outcomes, the connected health industry can create sustainable pathways for innovation to reach patients and the broader healthcare ecosystem.

SV: The potential value of an integrated, connected health system is huge. What are some of the pitfalls of not aligning our work in a cross-disciplinary way?

VD: Failing to align the development of connected health solutions across disciplines can lead to several significant pitfalls. We risk creating fragmented solutions that result in delayed innovation cycles, hindering progress in the healthcare sector. Additionally, valuable data may become locked and siloed, preventing comprehensive analysis and effective use. Furthermore, misaligned incentives can sustain a transactional care model, detracting from delivering holistic, patient-centered care. This lack of alignment can contribute to healthcare budget deficits, as it may impede the necessary support for patients transitioning from hospital to home care.

Sarah Valentine leads partnerships across life sciences at the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe). Prior to her role at DiMe, Sarah was a digital implementation lead at Eli Lilly & Company, where she led efforts at the intersection of clinical development and digital health to leverage innovative digital technologies including digital measures, combination products, and other DDTs in clinical research.