Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Synthes is among the top leaders of the orthopedics device market, serving physicians around the globe.
And the company has no plans to slow down. Last week the company introduced four new products in the deformity portfolio as well as a new nailing system for hip fracture surgery. Going forward, the company also restructured research and development initiatives for a more streamlined approach to addressing clinical issues holistically.
When DePuy acquired Synthes a few years ago, the company had eight research and development groups that were innovating separately. Now, however, the company is pushing to innovate across platforms and focus on providing a continuum of care.
"By bringing them all together, we can tackle issues that span across trauma, sports medicine and joint reconstruction all together," says Martin Fitchet, MD, global head of research and development for DePuy Synthes. "By having one R&D organization, our developers can work more closely with each other to tackle challenging clinical problems."
As one organization, DePuy Synthes also has a greater ability to leverage R&D resources to deliver a broader portfolio to providers.
"We can really think about integrating significant R&D projects into broader healthcare solutions as we work with our customers," says Dr. Fitchet. "It gives us a unique perspective to tackle the big orthopedic challenges with the cross-sector expertise from J&J. It's rare that big orthopedic issues are limited to just one problem, so having access to drugs and devices across a broad spectrum gives us an distinct advantage."
But Johnson & Johnson's research and development team isn't just limited to devices. Innovation comes from scientists, physicians, engineers and others in the industry dedicated to fighting disease and disability.
"In the future, we need to think ambitiously about the largest issues we can tackle, and being part of a larger company helps," says Dr. Fitchet. "We are very open to accessing the best science – whether developed within the company or accessed from external sources. The J&J Innovation Centers, based in major technology hubs including San Francisco, Boston, London and Shanghai, are working to identify the latest technologies, resources and expertise to develop the best solutions for patients."
But physicians today aren't just thinking about the implants; clinical quality also includes patient satisfaction, data collection and protocol development. Physicians need to meet the triple aim and DePuy Synthes developed the Advantage program to help get them there.
"We view innovation as going beyond the product," says Scott Zellner, director of DePuy Synthes Advantage. "We're trying to help providers and physicians develop a more successful healthcare dynamic. One way of doing that is adopting their measure of success: the triple aim."
In addition to several new products introduced last week, DePuy Synthes launched new solutions aimed to meet the objectives of the triple aim — improving outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction and reducing costs.
"We have the ability to maintain the cadence of high quality, innovative products, but now we are also very ambitious about utilizing different technologies together to promote the patient experience and we want to continue leading in the future," says Mr. Zellner. "I believe in taking action and expanding our research ambitions beyond the traditional products to improve the patient experience and recovery in every aspect of their care."
One of DePuy Synthes' new products is CareSense, a software designed for data collection and real-time data analytics. The subscription based program gathers information on patient satisfaction, cost and clinical care.
"We are finding a huge void in the industry when it comes to meeting the triple aim; a lot of physicians don't know how they are doing compared with other physicians," says Dr. Fitchet. "The real-time data can help improve and streamline the process."
CareSense is currently at 150 hospitals in the United States and DePuy Synthes is continually creating new capabilities for the program. The program can do internal benchmarking as well as provide benchmark data for similar sized hospitals in the region.
The second new product is the PATIENT ATHLETE Program, a video-based program to help joint replacement patients optimize their activity and energy before and after surgery. There are self-guided lessons to reduce pain and improve function before and after the procedure. Pilot tests show patients report less fear about surgery and feel they are recovering more quickly after watching the video.
PATIENT ATHLETE utilizes science-based tools and techniques developed by the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, which combines three decades of human performance technology. The program began as a way to help athletes optimize their abilities and grew to serve corporate professionals and now Navy Seals as well as joint surgery patients.
"Typically, a patient would prepare physically for surgery, but what about emotionally?" says Mr. Zellner. "Are they excited about what joint replacement will do in their lives? The video focuses on outcomes and rehabilitation participation. It touches on the spiritual aspects of the patient and is purpose-driven: what is the new focus of your life? When you get to 90 days post-op, what do you want to do? When patients look at joint replacement holistically, they are more confident in their choice of the procedure."
So far, around 88 percent of the patients said they would recommend the program to their friends and families.
The company has been evolving this way for the past few years with the DePuy Synthes Programs designed for ambulatory surgery centers. The program delivers personalized surgical solutions to the operating room catering to the ASC's economic and clinical needs. More procedures are now outpatient and patients are going to ASCs, where costs and infection rates are generally lower than hospitals.
Additionally, in February, DePuy Synthes acquired Olive Medical, a medical device manufacturing company focused on affordable HD MIS imaging equipment for operating rooms and physician offices. The portfolio augments DePuy Synthes Mitek Sports Medicine arthroscopy line.