Injection of Digitisation

Pfizer’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer Lidia Fonseca reflects on the value of digital, data, and artificial intelligence in life sciences and healthcare, the contribution digital has made during the pandemic, and the importance of mindsets and culture in achieving lasting change.…

The healthcare industry is being rewired across the entire patient journey, from how patients access healthcare to how they pay for it and how they experience the delivery of care. The intersection of healthcare with the digital sector is accelerating this transformation.

The pandemic acted as a catalyst.… As the traditional setting of the physician’s office gives way to virtual forms of engagement, more payers are reimbursing digital visits and services. Data analytics fuelled by machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence are accelerating drug discovery and development and enhancing prevention, early detection, personalised treatment and digital therapies.


Quantum-computing capabilities will help us bring medicines more quickly to patients. Distribution is being reshaped by online and retail pharmacies and new intermediaries.

From ‘How Digital Helps a Life Sciences Leader Move at Light Speed’, McKinsey & Co