Op-ed: Health innovation is not a choice – it is a necessity

Norway is not alone in this transition. Yet as a nation, we find ourselves at a strategic crossroads: Should we continue to rely on the value creation of the past – or invest in the industries of the future? For more than fifty years, oil and gas have underpinned Norway’s welfare and prosperity. Now we must build new industries capable of carrying that responsibility forward – industries that combine expertise, technology and sustainability.

Health technology can be one such future industry. Solutions already exist that free up time, improve patient safety and enable care to be delivered closer to home. Norwegian companies are at the forefront of development – but too often, progress stops there. The NHO report “The Path to Growth – Norwegian Competitiveness” shows that while Norway is strong in research, we are weaker when it comes to commercialisation. We have too few scale-ups, low patent activity and too many bureaucratic barriers that slow down development and investment.

Across large parts of the healthcare sector, there is a culture of piloting – but not of scaling. There is no national approval system that allows municipalities to confidently adopt new technology, even when it has already been tested and documented in a neighbouring municipality. For medical devices, regulatory frameworks are clear. For digital health technologies outside this scope, each municipality is effectively left to stand alone. Norway’s 356 municipalities must conduct their own assessments, pilots and processes – again and again. As a result, many solutions remain stuck in test mode, and when they are finally adopted, implementation is often so limited that the expected benefits fail to materialise.

With more than 310 members from industry, research and the public sector, Norway Health Tech serves as a hub for new value creation in the health sector. Through collaboration, we see how innovation can address societal challenges while simultaneously generating exports, jobs and economic growth.

Laerdal Medical in Stavanger demonstrates what a strong health industry can mean in practice. In a region where oil and energy have long been the backbone of the economy, the company has built high-tech jobs, export revenues worth billions, and a globally recognised competence environment. As Norway gradually reduces its dependence on oil and gas, we need more legs to stand on in order to retain expertise and create sustainable growth.

Health innovation is not just about technology – it is about building the welfare society of the future. We are facing a national turning point: Either we allow development to happen around us, or we use our knowledge and industrial strength to write the next chapter of Norway’s industrial success story.

This article was first published in Effektiv velferd (Mediaplanet)