Framing the Value of Patient Engagement for Medtech Product Developers

This framework aims to support more robust patient engagement (PE) by device, diagnostic, and digital health—i.e., medtech—product developers. It builds on the FasterCures report, Defining and Demonstrating the Value of Patient Engagement in Medtech Research and Product Development, which examined the state of patient engagement in the medtech sector, identified key barriers to its uptake, and outlined opportunities to expand the use of patient perspectives in medtech research and development (R&D). 

The framework is a nonprescriptive menu of options, designed to: 

• help companies identify key decision points across the total product life cycle where patient engagement insights and data can be used to enhance and inform R&D activities; 
• identify possible methods, sources, and metrics for conducting patient engagement activities and measuring their impact; and
• support the information and evidence product developers generate for regulators, payers, providers, investors, and other stakeholders. 

In a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment where PE may be deprioritized without a clear case for impact, this framework serves as a foundation for a broader set of FasterCures medtech resources to support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of patient engagement.