Ohad Arazi President and CEO, Clarius.
getty
Healthcare is becoming more technologically forward—and that’s a great thing. According to the AMA, physicians are increasing their use of digital tools, including remote care technology, and their willingness to adopt technologies like artificial intelligence is high. Ultimately, physicians are looking to better serve their patients and know that they can leverage current and developing technologies to give better insight into diagnosis and treatment, as well as more expanded options and services to patients looking for specialized care.
In order to keep up with what’s new and evolving, here are five technological trends that are shaping the present and future of patient care.
Trend 1: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
One of the biggest technological trends in healthcare that’s helping improve diagnosis, treatment and outcomes is artificial intelligence. AI can be used across a number of areas in healthcare, from AI-guided surgery to workflow analysis, but AI provides the biggest benefits for medical imaging. By using AI, physicians have a “guide” that can help them better identify anatomy and landmarks, allowing for more accurate capturing of complicated images like the heart. AI can also more accurately look for disease based on incorporating past data sets into its knowledge base, and it has been proven to reduce false positives by 37% when compared to scans that don’t use AI for diagnosis. Overall, it’s estimated that by 2026, AI applications will save $150 billion for the healthcare economy.
Trend 2: Healthcare Marketplaces
Another trend is the creation of healthcare marketplaces that will allow for better innovation and collaboration for companies offering technological solutions in the healthcare space. Patients are already familiar with healthcare marketplaces where they can browse physicians and insurance options. But we’ll see an increase in the use of marketplaces by innovators creating devices, software, apps and other offerings that will help advance healthcare. These marketplaces may offer open-source integration so different companies can work towards digital solutions, or they may offer physician-facing training in how to use new technologies to improve diagnosis, workflow and reporting. Ultimately, the goal with these marketplaces will be to create an ecosystem of technology-first companies who work together to bring healthcare tech to its full potential.
Trend 3: Patient Experience
One of the trends healthcare should always focus on is the patient experience. Today’s technology and innovations not only help improve the patient experience through things like virtual patient visits and personalization, but have in many ways put the drivers of that experience in the hands of the patient. A recent report on patient experience found that 78% of patients said they want to be able to engage with healthcare systems on their preferred channel. Additionally, 84% said it’s important that their “customer service issues are resolved quickly and accurately” with their healthcare provider, and 75% said they are more loyal to healthcare providers that focus on improving their patient experience. Because many patients have the ability to pick and choose who they want to see, many clinicians will need to focus on offering higher-quality, more technologically advanced services in order to keep current patients and attract new ones.
Trend 4: Telemedicine
Another trend that was accelerated by the pandemic is telemedicine and virtual doctor visits. Use of telemedicine options during the pandemic increased 63 times the amount from 2019, and today, 37% of adults have used telemedicine in the past year. Remote visit options provide greater flexibility for patients to receive care in their own home and can provide many benefits to the elderly with mobility issues, or individuals who live in remote areas. Physicians looking to improve the patient experience can offer telemedical options knowing that technologies to facilitate secure video conferencing and remote vital signs monitoring are continuously evolving each day.
Trend 5: Hand-held Devices
Finally, we’re seeing an increase in the use of hand-held devices in healthcare that includes specially made hardware and mobile apps that sync with that hardware. Physicians can reap a number of benefits by having what used to be large, static or cart-based systems packaged into hand-held devices they can use anywhere at any time, such as hand-held ultrasound. Hand-held systems are more affordable and more portable, meaning that physicians can bring the benefits of larger machines into their offices and to their patients. This means that diagnosis can happen faster as physicians can get answers about their patients in real time. Well-designed hand-held devices that pair with smartphone apps also reduce complexity, and studies have found that when medical apps are designed to mirror the UI and UX of familiar apps, usability simplifies as much as 80%. Finally, hand-held devices free up clinicians across a number of specialties from hospital-based systems so that they can offer better patient care in their private clinical settings.
Following The Trends
One thing is clear with these current trends: technology is advancing healthcare and improving the patient experience. But these technological advances don’t just appear out of nowhere. Rather, dedicated companies and partners—including physicians eager to be early adopters—are the ones creating the future of healthcare technology through collaboration and development. We’ll continue to see greater adoption of these technologies among healthcare practitioners, specifically across specialists, all with the focus on improving the patient experience, retaining current patients and attracting new ones.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
.