Proposal of an Innovative Business Model for Customized Production in Healthcare

The growth of aging population in developed countries necessitates a better performance of the healthcare system in order to improve the healthy life expectancy of elderly people. Such a progress can be achieved both through improved services and medical products. Accordingly, providing patients with customized medical devices that are designed and produced based on individual requirements of each patient can be seen as a proper solution. In this regard, the emerging manufacturing technologies such an additive manufacturing not only facilitate customized production in healthcare sector, but also can change the role of the hospital from a solely user to a producer. However, successful pursuit of such strategy requires implementation of a new business model as a supporting tool. This paper aims at proposing an innovative business model to support hospitals for customized production in healthcare.