Diagnostics are central to healthcare, but not accessible to all. A 2020 Lancet study states that 47% of the global population has little to no access to accurate diagnostics, emphasizing the need for equitable distribution across geographies and containing procurement costs. The COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for personal protective equipment, consumables for molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and POCT testing for SARS-Cov2. However, serious glitches in supply and logistics due to poor procurement strategies led to manufacturing delays and a surge in diagnostics and healthcare costs. Vendors of R&D prototyping, small-batch manufacturing services, and niche testing labs recorded the largest revenue drop across the value chain. The coronavirus also accelerated healthcare digitalization, including in vitro diagnostics (IVD). Engineering and technological innovations present opportunities to create new eCommerce platform solutions in the diagnostics segment, emphasizing global connectivity, transparency, access, scalability, and cost efficiencies. These features reduce the gaps in the IVD industry, improve access, and democratize diagnostics to empower providers, payers, and patients. Lessons learned from the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 serve as the building blocks to strengthen healthcare systems, primarily timely health service delivery, attention to the healthcare workforce, need for robust health information systems, access to diagnostics (analogous to essential medicines), efficient supply chain for procurement and supplies, and seamless communication and interconnectedness, financing, leadership, and governance. eCommerce marketplaces for healthcare and IVD provide an opportunity to buy, sell, lease, market, and procure diagnostic products and service information on any internet device, such as the computer (web-based) or mobile (mCommerce). Pharmaceuticals, biotech companies, contract research organizations, hospitals, clinics, universities, laboratories, government, and customers can use these technology platforms to access the global ecosystem. While technology infrastructure within eCommerce is evolving, essential technologies enabling healthcare transactions include EDI, bar codes, cloud, product data exchange, and electronic forms. This study assesses the eCommerce business potential across sectors, creating resilient healthcare and diagnostic market opportunities for R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain functions. It explores other scalable, cost-efficient business opportunities with new B2B products, customized outsourcing services, and technology-enabled tools for efficiency and ease of operations. The IVD market is buoyant due to the soaring demand for products, molecular diagnostics, immunoassays, and POCT in chronic diseases. The rise in consumerization, telehealth, and ePharmacy also push it toward further digitalization with advanced artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of things technologies. The study also examines the competitive environment, strategies, market models, and use cases for success in the IVD eCommerce platform industry.

Author: Tejashri Manish Khadilkar