If you’re a medical device manufacturer, your main goal is to produce innovative products that help people. But as the need for more personalized medicine grows, so does the need for real-time data delivery. Through industry changes and advancements, the focus now is on patient-centered care to rapidly improve patient outcomes.
Why Shift to Cloud-based ERP?
In an effort to improve healthcare and support the development of innovative new products, medical device manufacturers are looking more and more at shifting to cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for improved device management. A cloud-based ERP enables you to manage more personalized patient devices, allowing for a more personal level of care. Many medical device manufacturers also operate on a global scale, so having a strategy in place to help expand their presence while also meeting regulatory and compliance guidelines in other regions is vital to company growth.
With the industry experiencing increased levels of change, it is imperative that manufacturers have an agile and responsive ERP in place. Recent regulation changes, for example, have directly impacted medical device management, such as the introduction of Unique Device Identification (UDI), which allows for increased device traceability. The one-size-fits-all approach that may have worked for decades just isn’t as effective today. The ease of gathering and sharing data has become one of the most beneficial aspects of cloud-based ERP, along with enabling companies to make better decisions through improved analysis. This quicker access to manufacturing and supply chain data allows businesses to operate in real-time and evolve as the needs of the industry do.
Building Better Customer Relationships with the Cloud
Cloud-based ERP also affects the manufacturer-customer relationship through advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA). Medical device manufacturers can now enhance their patient experience as well as patient outcomes. Of these technologies, IoT stands as the prime focus for medical device manufacturers. For example, digital sensors can now track patient information in real-time from just about anywhere around the world. The analysis over time paints a more comprehensive picture of what the patient is experiencing, monitors device functionality and tells you what treatments or adjustments to care might be needed in the future.
The ERP’s job is to record the data gathered and help to determine next steps for the patient as well as real-time device history. The medical device manufacturer can then take that information and use it to improve their products and solutions going forward.
Improved Medical Device Management Leads to Improved Patient Care
In a recent article written for Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, Michael Kolias, QAD’s Director of Life Sciences, discussed the emergence of personalized medicine and how an adaptive cloud ERP solution can help medical device manufacturers to develop better, more reliable products and treatments.
“Pacemakers have become so sophisticated that healthcare providers can now monitor and make real-time adjustments to a device inside a patient’s body. They monitor the patient’s heartbeat and relay the information, which allows the healthcare provider to develop a comprehensive healthcare plan. Patient mobility is no longer constrained, and cloud-based ERP allows real-time data to be gathered and analyzed regardless of the device’s location.” – Michael Kolias, Director of Life Sciences
To find out more about the role of cloud ERP in patient-centered care and medical device management, read the full story in Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry.
