In the global health landscape, one enduring challenge lies in navigating the complex maze of different cultures, communities, healthcare systems, and socio-economic variables to deliver practical, equitable healthcare solutions.
For too long, the global health community has long focused on health outputs rather than measurably improved health outcomes, prioritizing dollars invested over truly transformative impact.
Let’s explore the ramifications of this short-sighted, ill-fated approach and how Medtronic LABS is doing things differently.
Collaborating With Communities, Health Systems, and Governments
In all our work, governments, health systems, and, most importantly, communities form the foundation of our partnerships. By working hand-in-hand with these essential stakeholders, we effectively tailor healthcare solutions to the unique cultural and socio-economic contexts of the communities, families, and individuals we serve.
We also believe that to achieve true health equity, the communities that are most impacted by health disparities must be active participants in shaping solutions. This guides our design-led approach as we co-create our healthcare delivery models with health systems and communities.
Collaborating with governments allows us to navigate complex health ecosystems while also ensuring our initiatives align with national health objectives. Engaging with local and international health systems enables us to develop and implement holistic strategies that address the multi-faceted nature of health challenges.
Our growing list of partners and collaborators ranges from governments and multinational corporations to community-based organizations and global NGOs. The diversity of these partnerships, driven by co-creation, underscores the reality that by pooling our collective strengths, resources, and expertise, we’re better equipped to measurably improve health outcomes for underserved patients everywhere.
A Bolder Approach to Last-Mile Healthcare Delivery
At Medtronic LABS, we’re taking a different, bolder approach to global health systems transformation. We strive to co-create sustainable, locally tailored healthcare interventions in collaboration with governments, health agencies, community health workers, and the patients we seek to help. Central to this mission are strategic partnerships, which add tangible value and exponential strength to our health interventions.
For instance, our collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been instrumental in advancing our health equity initiatives. As part of AWS’s Health Equity Initiative, we’re leveraging cutting-edge cloud technologies to amplify our impact and reach. Similarly, our partnership with KOICA is shaping the landscape of community health in Ghana, focusing on critical areas like diabetes, hypertension, and maternal health.
We’re also exploring innovative ways to harness artificial intelligence for health outcomes at the intersection of technology and global health. Through our partnerships with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Causal Foundry, we’re deepening our AI acumen, finding creative ways to apply novel technology to advance health equity worldwide.
These partnerships and collaborative efforts underscore what we already know: that transforming global health isn’t linear or uniform but rather a diverse mosaic of interconnectivity, with each entity offering its unique strengths, insights, and opportunities.
What Does “Co-Creation” Mean in Global Health?
But co-creation isn’t just a buzzword for us. It’s a deep-rooted philosophy that permeates every aspect of our work. At Medtronic LABS, co-creating requires engaging in a shared journey toward a common goal, enriching the process and results with diverse perspectives, expertise, and experiences. Whether it’s scaling solutions to support diabetes patients or crafting locally nuanced health interventions that support community health workers in their day-to-day livelihoods, the core of our work involves designing solutions with—not for—the communities we serve.
Our SPICE platform, an open-source technology driving data-informed, community-based healthcare delivery, best demonstrates this manta. SPICE embodies co-creation, actively involving governments, health agencies, community health workers, and patients in shaping healthcare solutions from the ground up. Given its open-source nature, SPICE can be owned and adapted by governments and communities, enabling a more profound impact by evolving to meet the needs of unique communities and geographies.
Outcomes Over Outputs
And co-creation is only part of the equation. Transforming global health and achieving genuine health equity also calls for a strategic focus on measurable health outcomes at the patient, community, and national levels rather than just outputs.
Many global health players demonstrate impact vis-a-vis activities executed and dollars invested. At Medtronic LABS, we’ve seen first-hand that this approach needs an overhaul. As much as $3.2 trillion per year is spent on global health projects that, unfortunately, make little impact on actual health outcomes. This figure underscores the urgent need to realign our global health objectives with the real measure of success: improved health outcomes for individuals and communities.
The world has seen the devastating effects of a global pandemic, a stark reminder that health threats anywhere are threats to health everywhere. This realization has moved health to the top of every government’s agenda and underlined the critical role of public-private partnerships in overcoming health challenges. Organizations such as Zipline and Babyl, with their groundbreaking drone-powered logistics and telemedicine services, exemplify the impact that can be achieved when private-sector innovation is harnessed in a public health context.
A New Global Health Era Demands a New Approach
As we step into a new era of global health, one thing is clear: we are stronger together.
By forming strategic partnerships that value co-creation and fostering improved patient outcomes, we can turn the tide on global health inequities and cultivate a future where quality healthcare is accessible to all, regardless of location or circumstances.
At Medtronic LABS, we’re ready for this future. We invite you to join us on this journey, co-creating solutions and breaking down barriers to health equity. Together, we can redefine the narrative of global health, making it not just about the number of lives we touch but the measurable improvements we bring about in the health and well-being of communities worldwide.
Interested in learning more about Medtronic LABS and our tech-driven to global health transformation? Contact us today – we’d love to talk. Together, we can transform global health systems and restore human dignity.
