The Role of Product Management in Improving Clinical Healthcare Outcomes

While the clinical outcomes impact of product management is not yet consistently defined, product management is being viewed as the critical bridge between the analysis and, understanding of, a clinical need and the design of usable and safe healthcare solutions. The present paper offers a synthesis of the literature and regulations that combine to provide an understanding of how the product management processes of stakeholder alignment, user-centered research, outcome-based metrics and iterative testing result in real improvements to patient care. A winning COA product strategy enables teams to define and integrate patient focused endpoints into development and regulatory processes. Good user research and engagement of clinicians early on in the process create requirements that support acceptability and clinical utility of devices and digital tools. Digital hospital and technology product practices, at the interface with the patient and their families, show that effectively managed products, combined with training and organizational change, can change clinician workflows, the patient experience, and some process metrics. Successful uptake of products into routine use is not necessarily a function of the innovative technical nature of the product itself, but more a function of the implementation process that involves synthesis of evidence, co-creation with stakeholders, and testing in cycles. We provide a practical framework to link product management work to domains of clinical outcomes, provide an attempt to share case examples within that framework, and propose metrics and governance processes that product teams should follow to enhance clinical impact. The article ends with a discussion of cross-cutting product management structures and research needs to more effectively measure the influence of product management on improving health outcomes.