Koninklijke Philips N : Frans van Houten on COVID-19 response, recovery and the future during WEF’s live-streamed The Davos Agenda 2021

As CEO of a global health technology company that not only provided key equipment, such as ventilators and patient monitors, to help care for COVID-19 patients, but also rapidly developed innovative telehealth solutions to remotely support patients, care teams and hospitals, Frans is in a unique position to offer a healthcare industry perspective on the events that unfolded in 2020 and some of the positive lessons that can be learned from them. For example, that dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major catalyst for positive healthcare industry change, advancing the acceptance and adoption of technology solutions that are pivotal to healthcare transformation. Looking forward, he will point to the need for greater resilience and flexibility in healthcare systems, the need to move care to lower cost community and home-based settings, and the power of data and artificial intelligence to make maximum use of limited healthcare resources. According to Frans, 'healthcare is an investment that needs to be optimized, not a cost to be minimized.'

To view the livestream discussion on January 25, 2021, from 14.15 to 15.00 hours CET, visit https://www.weforum.org/events/the-davos-agenda-2021. Davos registered participants will be able to submit question to the panel. To view the discussion online after the event, click here.