*This is part 2 of a 2-part series.
If you haven’t already, check out Emerging healthcare technology trends: Part 1.
In part 1, we covered the following trends in healthcare:
- Wearables devices
- Cybersecurity and data privacy
- HIPAA-compliant video conference platforms
- Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
- Concentration on mental health care
In part 2, we’ll discuss:
- Big data & analytics
- Cloud migration
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Instant online scheduling
- Cognitive Automation (CA)
- Fintech integration
- Interoperability & connectivity
- Telehealth
Improved big data and analytics
Frost & Sullivan predicts that AI technology will save the healthcare industry at least $150M by 2025, made possible by real-time and long-distance patient data and measurement analysis.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for researchers and medical professionals. It also highlighted the importance of data analytics. Healthcare providers can easily get lost in the countless spreadsheets and meetings required to process their data manually. The digital future will include technology that can process Big Data and provide real-time analytics to decision-makers.
Organizations can also use analytics to make predictions. The use of business intelligence and predictive analytics to enhance the data-driven insights from previous interactions between patients and healthcare organizations allows for making predictions and implementing changes. Both sides benefit. The patient receives timely and accurate services. Healthcare providers benefit from staff optimization and greater control over the supply chain.
Predictive analytics capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Predictive analytics has been pushed to its limits by the pandemic. The University of Chicago Medical was created to address population health challenges and improve patient outcomes. They provide new ways to visualize data with unique dashboards.
This technology monitors patient populations, trends, ventilator, ICU, and ICU requirements, detects drug and equipment shortages during times of uncertainty, and points these issues to healthcare professionals. Predictive analytics also uses external data, such as weather conditions, to aid in the analysis. The software is a must-have for crisis management and can be augmented with GPS.
Cloud migration
Cloud migration in healthcare is currently in full swing. It will continue to grow in the future. Markets and Markets (TM) states that the global healthcare cloud computing market will reach USD 51.9 billion by 2024, from an estimated USD 23.4 billion in 2019 at a CAGR of 17.2% during the forecast period.
It solves many significant problems in service delivery, including remote care and record management. The cloud is used by providers worldwide to efficiently manage their emails, electronic medical records, and medical billing software to make real-time information available to healthcare professionals.
The cloud can help customers engage and resolve issues faster by moving legacy call center operations away from outdated technology stacks. Traditional healthcare systems can limit an organization’s ability to provide cost-effective and efficient care, as well as retain patients. The cloud offers a secure, compliant, Omnichannel contact center platform with conversational AI/automation and an integrated ecosystem that enhances customer experience.
HIMSS survey analysts claim that cloud solutions are an extension of a healthcare organization’s communications infrastructure. As more applications move to the cloud, connectivity should scale up.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
According to the World Healthcare Organization (WHO), there will be a shortage of healthcare workers worldwide by 2035. This would make in-person appointments expensive for many patients. The COVID-19 epidemic has only made matters worse. We may see the adoption of robotic process automation (RPA) solutions for healthcare to fix medical system inefficiencies.
RPA-empowered robots are a major milestone in healthcare information technology development. Healthcare providers can achieve accurate automation, cost reductions, staff optimization, or even transformative changes with the right know-how. AI algorithms can help patients find the right doctor by scanning their symptoms with greater accuracy than traditional search engines.
RPA is a technological innovation that has brought robots that imitate human behavior to healthcare. They can make screenwriter detection, input data, and execute predefined actions. Healthcare organizations use RPA to manage information, appointment scheduling claims management, and optimal care delivery.
Instant online scheduling
RPA allows hospitals to quickly and accurately set up appointments. The technology instantly matches the symptoms and diagnoses with the patient’s personal information and pulls up insurance details. It automatically checks for any free slots in the doctor’s schedules near the patient’s place at all hospitals.
Your doctor receives an email containing all relevant information about your visit on a specific day. The system will notify you of a problem and send you an email inviting you to see another doctor. All this is done in a few clicks.
Cognitive Automation (CA)
The next level trend for digital transformation is cognitive automation. It’s a rising IT trend in healthcare. However, the tech package and its application are changing how an industry is managed. It combines the best RPA with the ability to mimic human behavior. It is essentially a digital brain for the healthcare organization.
CA takes the automation capabilities from current software providers and applies ML algorithms to increase industry decision velocity. It is possible to process zettabytes of data in seconds and give decision-makers ready-to-accept suggestions backed up with real-time data. It is about creating a self-driving business where all operational processes can be automated.
Today, not all healthcare payers can afford this technology. However, the potential benefits of a unified operating platform and faster and more accurate decisions make it worth the investment. CA will be more widespread and accessible to many healthcare industry professionals in the next few years.
Fintech integration
It is expected that healthcare spending will reach $6 trillion by 2027. The healthcare system was a traditional bureaucratic system until recent years. However, many hospitals and medical institutions are turning to the tech sector to improve their billing and filing processes. Tech began to deliver.
Financial technology covers insurance, management, digital payments, settlement, capital-raising, deposits, and credit services. It streamlines healthcare by streamlining the process and lowering the cost of financial services.
Fintech helps boost the healthcare industry by reducing inefficiencies in payment plans, robotic investment advice, P2P loans, mobile payments, and artificial intelligence.
Fintech solutions can help lower-income inequality and financial exclusion and allow low- to moderate-income people to access healthcare services. PayZen is one of the most successful fintech solutions. It calculates a person’s ability to pay for healthcare costs and then sets up a payment plan. It also helps to streamline the hospital billing process.
Nomi Health, a startup in healthcare, offers employers a platform to connect directly with healthcare providers, and this, it claims, can help save everyone money.
Interoperability and connectivity
Another healthcare tech trend emerged during the global pandemic. It was caused by a lack of data interoperability. This has caused caregivers to slow down over the years and affected their ability to provide the best care possible.
Hospitals can improve patient data flow and synchronization. They also have faster and more accurate identification of high-risk patients.
Google Cloud’s research shows that nearly 59% of doctors believe improved interoperability would help them identify high-risk patients more quickly, while 95% agree that enhanced interoperability will eventually improve patient outcomes.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has published final rules that allow individuals to share more health information. This is a consumer-centric approach in healthcare. Patients now have greater access to and can easily share electronic health information.
The interoperability between providers, MedTech developers, and patients is expected to improve, and we will undoubtedly see significant growth in this field over the next few years.
Telehealth
Telemedicine was the fastest growing trend in healthcare during COVID-19, with 82% of the population using Telemedicine services since the pandemic’s start.
According to Mordor Intelligence, we can expect the market for Telemedicine to grow from its current $38 billion and reach $168 billion by 2026. This represents a 28% CAGR. Telemedicine has been a key component of the entire healthcare industry.
Telehealth makes it possible to have permanent access to healthcare through mobile technology. This includes remote monitoring and virtual doctor visits. These services remove the need to visit a doctor for non-essential reasons and make it possible for rural patients to see a doctor, other healthcare professionals, and even medical specialists from remote locations.
Telemedicine will continue to grow, as evidenced by the growing demand. The current market can be divided by source of healthcare into three segments: telehospitals (telehomes), telehealth (mobile health), and telehospitals (telehomes).
Telehomecare (THC) is an industry term that refers to home-administered health care and monitoring. It has been one of the most popular trends in Telemedicine over the past year. The most significant market driver boosting this trend is the growing number of chronic diseases.
About the Author
Alex Tate is a Health IT writer for various platforms. He provides perceptive, engaging, and informative consultancy on industry-wide topics. Read more about Alex in Emerging healthcare technology trends Part 1.
