Kelly Arnold coauthored this article.

Key takeaways

• Medtech leaders who embed patient centricity in medtech strategies gain lasting advantage. They improve both outcomes and business performance as care models shift toward partnership and personalization.
• Strong medtech patient engagement drives measurable growth by aligning business priorities with patient needs. It supports faster clinical trial enrollment, deeper provider loyalty and stronger referral pathways.
• As the consumerization of healthcare accelerates, patient experience in medtech becomes a defining differentiator. Patient trust becomes a tangible measure of competitive strength and future readiness.

Across healthcare, patient centricity is becoming the standard for measuring progress and medtech is increasingly no exception. In an industry defined by technical precision and clinical outcomes, leaders understand putting patients first can drive better results at every level—from development and approval to adoption and long-term use. What began as an ethical aspiration is proving to be a practical business decision.

Patients are no longer passive recipients of care. They and their caregivers are informed consumers demanding control, transparency and personalization. Our 2025 Future of Health Report found a 68% gap between how much patients want to feel cared for and how much they actually do. That finding alone is enough to show the industry why it needs to do more. Medical device companies must adapt, as several macrotrends are accelerating this shift toward patient centricity.

Medical device companies’ customers are already demanding this focus. ZS research found 90% of health systems include improvements to patient experience and satisfaction in their top five priorities. Healthcare providers are up to 80% more likely to recommend, prescribe and engage with companies that are more patient-focused. Medical device manufacturers that overlook patient focus risk losing both relevance and the trusted partnerships that fuel growth.

Regulators and payers now require patient input across more processes, including the FDA’s guidance on embedding patient insights in clinical trial design. As expectations shift, patient centricity may be a requirement and no longer an optional differentiator. These shifts give life sciences teams both challenges and opportunities to strengthen patient engagement and improve health outcomes.

Why medtech lags on patient centricity—and how to close the gap

It’s time to challenge some persistent myths surrounding patient-centric strategies in the medtech industry. Too often, companies mistake patient engagement for marketing flash, missing the deeper value of patient perspective and authentic connection. Another misconception is that patient centricity is too expensive, when it often delivers cost efficiencies that strengthen both business performance and patient outcomes. There’s also the mistaken belief that only patient-facing devices benefit from such strategies while, in truth, a patient-centered mindset has a far-reaching impact.

The pharmaceutical industry shows how patient centricity delivers measurable value for both patients and the bottom line. Companies that have made patient needs the heart of their strategies aren’t just improving patient experiences, they’re outpacing the competition. They create a win-win scenario where better business results and improved patient outcomes move forward hand in hand.

How medtech patient engagement fuels growth and loyalty

The most successful patient-centric initiatives focus on solving a hard business problem. Too often, companies treat patient-centered solutions as disconnected from core business goals. A patient-first lens reveals solutions traditional approaches overlook.

There are many business objectives that can be achieved through patient-centric efforts.

• We need to be sticky with our large health system customers: Provider consolidation and trends toward product standardization have made relationships with health systems even more crucial to success. Being sticky with those customers has proven to be even more valuable. Manufacturers are partnering with health systems to attract, retain and deliver stronger patient experiences. For example, Roche Diagnostics worked directly with Piedmont Healthcare to bring their HER2 breast cancer screening in-house, speeding up turnaround time to just a few days, allowing for faster personalization of care and faster diagnoses for patients anxiously awaiting results. Major medtech companies continue to publicize these types of initiatives and we expect they will continue.
• Our clinical trial is behind: In the most competitive parts of industry, such as cardiology, oncology and interventional spaces, the race to FDA approval and first-mover advantage can significantly influence the market for years to come. In a prostate cancer study, the term “watchful waiting” used for one patient cohort was interpreted as “watch while I die” and inhibited enrollment. After changing to “active monitoring,” the study saw a 75% increase in successful recruitment.

The consequences of ignoring patient centricity are real and potentially costly.

• I’m losing to competitors. Tailoring products and messaging to patients can have a significant impact on your performance compared to competition. Case in point, despite having a superior product, a medtech company lost about $36 million of its $300 million in U.S. sales to a competitor that incorporated patient feedback and made its device look more aesthetically pleasing.
• We can’t get patients through the referral pathway. For devices that depend on physician referrals, many marketing and field teams focus on referral pathways to ensure patients receive needed care. However, those efforts typically rely on physicians connecting with one another, rather than on intentional support programs or redesigned patient experiences to shepherd patients. ZS studies show that applying prescriptive data and intentional patient engagement can reduce patient drop-off by up to 20%, generating as much as 15% growth for organizations whose devices are worth tens of thousands each.

How to make patient centricity real in medtech

Despite widespread recognition of the value that patient centricity brings, many medtech organizations find themselves at a crossroads. They’re eager to reimagine their approach yet uncertain about how to begin. The intent to put patients first is clear, yet questions remain: Where should we start? What missteps should we avoid? How can we ensure our efforts deliver real business results while meeting patient needs? For companies determined to move beyond rhetoric and take meaningful action, here are practical strategies to chart a confident and effective course toward patient-centric transformation:

• Find a hard problem: Patient centricity pilots must be anchored in real business objectives. Otherwise, initiatives risk becoming fluffy, feel-good exercises with little lasting value. When patient-focused projects aren’t directly linked to measurable business outcomes, their impact is minimized and their potential wasted. Choosing low-risk initiatives may feel safe, but they usually deliver only marginal gains and leave much of patient centricity’s true value untapped. To unlock meaningful impact, organizations need to select substantial, challenging problems where patient focus can drive significant benefit—demonstrating that patient-centric approaches aren’t just noble ideals but powerful engines for measurable change and business growth.
• Listen to patients: It may seem obvious but get in front of patients and hear what they have to say. Too often we hear marketing leadership push their teams to get in front of the physician but not connect with the people benefiting from their products. While well intentioned, physicians are not always a perfect proxy for what patients truly value or are willing to risk. For instance, many doctors may assume patients with high blood pressure would be reluctant to undergo certain procedures due to perceived risks. However, a patient preference study revealed a different reality. Lowering blood pressure turns out to be more important to patients than avoiding additional medications or potential side effects. This highlights the crucial gap between physician assumptions and patient priorities and reinforces the need to go to the source. Ask your patients.
• Use data for insight and technology for scale: Are you using the full power of the data at your fingertips to best support patients? Today’s technology offers powerful ways to support patients that were once unimaginable. From accelerating diagnosis—even for those with rare conditions—to delivering personalized support at scale, the possibilities are vast. While some solutions require long-term investment, many ready-to-use tools exist today that can meaningfully engage patients, help them manage their conditions and drive measurable improvements in the patient experience. For organizations just getting started, using data to inform decisions helps make patient-centered investments more targeted, actionable and aligned with real needs.
• Leave no doubt about the business impact: If you can’t measure outcomes, they’re not real. Always start your patient-centric efforts by defining which business metrics you will improve. Or take a page from Medtronic’s Putting Patients First initiative, which tracks how patient focus shapes culture and performance. Measuring progress on both fronts can be as valuable as traditional business results.
• Start: Not everything needs to be transformational. Pragmatic, simple changes are always the first step in a long journey. Match lessons from outside healthcare and learn through minimally viable patient experiences designed to test and improve quickly.

Patient centricity in medtech is no longer optional

Adopting patient centricity isn’t a single leap but a deliberate journey. Medtech leaders don’t need to transform everything at once. Small, targeted initiatives can generate momentum and prove real business value. But the window for inaction is closing fast. Companies that delay risk losing relevance and eroding trust with providers and patients alike. Those that move now can apply proven lessons from consumer health and pharma to accelerate progress with confidence.