2013 Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year Finalists: Medtronic

Medtronic is boldly going where no medical device company has gone before. Typically, large companies are inherently averse to risk-taking, but in its quest to redefine itself in the face of convulsive changes in the healthcare industry, Medtronic has taken a big leap in 2013.

Moving beyond its comfort zone, the device maker acquired Cardiocom, a remote monitoring and disease management firm, for $200 million in August. In September, the company announced the launch of its Medtronic Hospital Solutions business. The division’s first order of business: manage the cath labs of some hospitals in Europe to make them more efficient.

The moves underscore the company’s acknowledgment that traditional business models built around the fee-for-service healthcare model, in which costs were an afterthought, will hasten Medtronic’s obsolescence. They also mark a cultural shift within the device maker, with patient wellness and remote monitoring becoming part of Medtronic’s operating paradigm.