Quality of Life
The medical technology industry is continually advancing and developing new innovations that improve the health and well-being of patients worldwide.
Quality of life is an important concept when considering the value medical technology brings to patients. Broadly speaking, quality of life can be thought of as an individual’s general sense of well-being. A person’s sense of their quality of life can be affected by many factors, including:
- work/home balance,
- relationships,
- spirituality, and
- housing.
One of the most important factors in determining whether or not an individual has a positive quality of life experience is the status of their health. Health problems can interfere with the most basic aspects of daily living—for example, breathing comfortably, quality of sleep, eliminating waste, feeding oneself, intimacy, and others. When everyday functions such as these are negatively impacted, a person’s quality of life is significantly diminished.
For a wide range of medical conditions that adversely impact quality of life, medical technology provides solutions that allow individuals to lead full, independent and productive lives, greatly increasing their quality of life
Lowering Overall Health Care Costs
Even with significant innovation in advanced medical technologies over the past 30 years, overall spending on medical devices has remained a small and constant part of national health spending – generally around 6 percent.1
In many cases, innovations that improve patients’ quality of life can actually lower the overall cost of health care in the long term.2