Centering the Patient Voice in Medtech Innovation 

I had the pleasure of attending the National Health Council’s 2025 Science of Patient Engagement Symposium to discuss the importance of involving patients in medtech innovation.

I was joined by fellow panelists Dr. Juan Espinoza and Christine Waggoner and our moderator Karl Cooper. Their insights and personal experience with medtech as a practitioner and as the parent of a child suffering from a rare disease are invaluable to me in my role, and I look forward to taking it back to the team to guide our work at AdvaMed. 

Engaging Patients Early On 

The premise of the panel hit the nail on the head: Patients must be engaged as early as possible in the process of developing and refining life-changing medtech to ensure it achieves and even exceeds its purpose of improving and saving lives.  
 
I told the gathering that at AdvaMed, engaging the patient voice means a number of things. We hold quarterly meetings with patient advocacy groups to learn their priorities and concerns. These conversations directly inform the policies we advocate for with Congress, the FDA, and CMS. For example, we learned from meeting with diabetes patient advocacy groups of proposed cell phone bans in schools for K-12 students and the need for a medical exception for the use of smartphone-connected continuous glucose monitors for students with diabetes. That need has translated into our policy advocacy work in states considering such cell phone bans.  

A Personal Experience with Patient Engagement 

This issue is deeply personal to me. My daughter has type 1 diabetes, and I’ve seen firsthand how medtech can dramatically improve lives. Her journey evolved from multiple daily finger pricks and injections to using integrated, less invasive technologies. It transformed not only how we manage her condition, but how we live our lives. That kind of transformation should be possible for every patient.

Clinical Trial Diversity  

Another critical means of ensuring the patient voice is considered in medtech R&D is through clinical trials. Clinical trials should engage a diverse population, the full gamut of patients who could benefit from the technology, whether that means addressing racial, gender, geographic, or disability-based disparities.  

Breakthrough Medtech Coverage Needed 
 
Then, after the medtech is developed, and the FDA has deemed the technology safe and effective for patient use, patients must have access to that medtech through coverage and reimbursement. We believe every patient in need should have access to the latest technology for their condition, which is why one of our top priorities at AdvaMed is the enactment of policies requiring Medicare coverage of medtech the FDA considers “breakthrough.”  

A Welcome Partnership 
 
I am grateful to Randall Rutta for the opportunity to join this illuminating panel discussion. He and his team at the National Health Council do tremendous work to amplify the voices of the millions of people living with chronic diseases and disabilities in the U.S. We are proud to be their partners! 

AdvaMed’s Patients First Agenda 

A number of policies serving patients originate on the state level. Please read more about our Patients First Agenda for state legislatures. 

Scott Whitaker is president and CEO of AdvaMed, the world’s largest trade association representing medtech innovators.