Opportunities for innovators as healthcare spending rises

U.S. national healthcare expenditures (NHE) were $4.3 trillion in 2021 — $12,914 per person — and are estimated to reach $6.2 trillion by 2028. Healthcare spending in 2021 accounted for approximately 18% of U.S. gross domestic product, including:

• Private health insurance spending of $1,211 billion (28% of NHE)
• Medicare spending of $900.8 billion (21% of NHE)
• Medicaid spending of $734 billion (17% of NHE)
• Out of pocket spending of $433.2 billion (10% of NHE).
• Hospital expenditures of $1,323.9 billion
• Physician and clinical services expenditures of $864.6 billion
• Prescription drug spending of $378 billion

It’s no surprise that healthcare offers vast opportunities for innovative companies of all sizes and specialties. Healthcare expenditures range from simple, inexpensive treatments and services (e.g., adhesive bandages, administering flu shots) to far more complex and costly procedures and drugs. For example, hospitals charged an average of $135,984 for aortic valve replacement surgery in 2020. A one-time course of treatment with Zolgensma — a drug that treats the rare childhood disorder of spinal muscular atrophy — costs more than $2.1 million.

Emerging technologies are especially critical to companies seeking to innovate in healthcare, including:

• Doctor/patient visits: Covid-19 encouraged widespread use of telemedicine. This spurred the development of new tools to make these interactions more beneficial to patients (e.g., monitoring patients remotely using Internet of Things wearables) and more efficient for healthcare providers (e.g., seamlessly connecting virtual-visit information and diagnosis with healthcare records and billing).
• Automating healthcare: Artificial intelligence is being used by providers in applications that include analysis of patient volumes and conditions in hospital emergency departments to prepare staff; interpreting lab results and x-rays; and managing tedious, time-consuming tasks unrelated to patient care.
• Additive manufacturing: 3D printing has made wide inroads into healthcare. Applications include the development of specialized medical devices and surgical equipment; making models of patient organs and body parts based on MRIs and CT scans to help enable physicians to diagnose problems and prepare for surgeries; and creation of customized, cost-effective prostheses, both for children (who quickly outgrow prosthetics) and adults (e.g., knees, hips, spine).

Yet companies seeking to enter the healthcare market will encounter strict regulations requiring demonstrated technical capabilities in developing, testing, and commercializing new ideas. Innovators often overcome these barriers by looking outside their companies for assistance. Partnering with government labs to utilize their research and development — via licensing technologies or Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) — can save valuable time and money in commercializing healthcare innovations.

TechLink — the authorized technology transfer partnership intermediary for the Department of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) — facilitates these agreements through tech transfer partnerships that connect private industry with government labs for the licensing, transfer, and joint R&D of currently available government lab technologies. For example, U.S. Army research scientists have invented an app and proprietary algorithm — 2B Healthy — that analyzes data from smartwatches or other wearables, and can alert users to the possibility of a pre-symptomatic infection. The wearable device continuously collects vital-sign data for the algorithm, which identifies physiological changes associated with abnormal events, including infection. This is one of hundreds of medical technologies available to those interested in partnering with federal government labs to commercialize emerging innovations.

Since 1999, TechLink has helped broker almost 2,000 agreements between businesses and federal labs for innovations, like 2B Healthy, in a range of industries, including healthcare, high-tech, software, and manufacturing.

Which healthcare technologies does your company need — today? The tech transfer process facilitated by TechLink, at no cost to businesses, can connect your company to a vast array of novel technologies and inventions. Start by searching our tech marketplace. TechLink