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Aniruddh Agarwal for Extern Labs Inc.

Posted on • Originally published at externlabs.com

Healthcare Technology Trends To Watch Out In 2022 And Beyond

As it’s already been two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can now say that there has been a great transformation in the healthcare industry because of immense digitalization. And all these things have added up to Healthcare technology trends.

Thus, in the year 2022, it is expected that the healthcare industry will be strengthened as new breakthrough discoveries and innovations have taken place. And this advancement in healthcare technology trends is evolving at an incredible pace.

Technology has been an intrinsic part of our day-to-day lives and it’s nothing new what I am saying. But, how are healthcare technology trends affecting the medical field?
Well, these trends are being utilized in treating more and more patients and implementing information-driven diagnosis and remote technology that has been invented to transform the healthcare landscape for the betterment of people.

In today’s article, we will discuss these healthcare technology trends in 2022 by listing some of the ongoing technology trends that you should look for in 2022 and beyond, as they will definitely shape the future of the healthcare industry.

However, before moving forward, let's look at some market statistics on digital transformation in the healthcare industry to get some real ideas.
Let’s see!

What do The Stats Have To Say?
According to the future healthcare report from HIMSS and its other trust partners- the pandemic has quickened changes in digital health. For instance, 80 percent of the health industry agrees that they already have made plans to expand their investments in the digital health sector.

Meanwhile, most health systems, approximately 62%, have not yet started implementing AI and ML tools, but they are interested in doing the same. And according to another report, 7 percent of the healthcare and pharma companies are carrying out digital strategies, as compared to other sectors that are implementing around 18%.

At present, the US healthcare market size is expanding tremendously, and its digital health market is estimated to reach around $504.4 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 29.6%.

On the basis of market research, the global healthcare market is estimated to reach $665.37 billion by the year 2028.

From the statistics, it is quite clear that technology is improving the healthcare industry and reshaping the process of how doctors look at patients, clinics, and hospital management through creating and improving drugs as well as predicting the timeline of treatment through data analytics.

And from AI to IoMT (Internet-of-medical-things) and cloud computing technology, it’s acting like a flagstone to offer speedy management and, overall, minimize casualties through real-time access to patient's history.

Benefits Of Digitalization In the Healthcare Industry
Here are some of the benefits of digitalization and common healthcare technology trends in the healthcare industry:

  • Real-time doctor and patient coordination.
  • Access to seamless health information.
  • Collaborative research and healthcare-related studies.
  • Easy online appointments.
  • Faster access to caretakers and nurses.
  • Medication controls.
  • Less manual mistakes.
  • Enhanced clinical conclusions.
  • Better revenue generation.
  • Automated administrative roles. Now, let’s move to the main goal and see the top healthcare technology trends in 2022.

Healthcare Technology Trends To Look For In 2022

Telemedicine
There was a time when we had to schedule an appointment way in advance with the doctor or hospital and had to wait for days or hours in the hospital. And even after getting all the clinical tests done, we have to wait for several days or weeks to get the results and then have to revisit the doctor.

I am sure, many of you can relate to this. Fortunately, those days are long gone.

These days there are many innovative solutions that are modifying the ways patients used to interact with healthcare professionals. Telemedicine solutions include searching for a clinic or doctor, scheduling a virtual appointment, and chatting with doctors through video or voice calls.
Thus, Telemedicine solutions allow the public to access healthcare professionals on demand. In developed countries like the USA, access to healthcare providers is restricted, as a result, telemedicine is emerging in demand.

The best use of telemedicine systems or telehealth technology is for virtual consultants and appointments among patients and doctors. So, in remote areas where healthcare supply is limited, virtual appointments can be made so that patients can effectively communicate with their doctors. Plus, patients who face mobility problems can also make use of telemedicine to commune with healthcare professionals.

However, it is also crucial to make sure that the telemedicine solution or application should follow the legislation in your region. We have to design a telemedicine application for the healthcare system to improve the interaction of doctors with patients either through video, voice, or text chat.

Big Data In Healthcare Industry
Big data is modifying our method of scrutinizing, leveraging, and controlling data in every industry. And healthcare is one industry where it can be implemented successfully to steer clear of uncertain diseases, reduce the overall treatment cost, and predict disease outbreaks.

With the use of big data, health professionals can store a massive amount of data and invent the best strategies to utilize the data. Nonetheless, big data in healthcare can offer positive and life-saving results.

Let’s understand big data in detail:

Real-Time Alerting
It is an essential example of big data in the healthcare industry. As hospitals can use clinical decision support application software to examine medical data and give advice to medical staff so that they can make advanced decisions.

In this case, wearable devices can also be used to fetch the patient's report continuously and send it to the cloud.
For instance, if the blood pressure of the patient increases suddenly, the software will send a notification to the medical team so that they can take action at the right time.

Predictions for Staff Upgradation
Healthcare managers normally find it difficult to decide how many medical professionals they should staff at a specific time. Because if there are too many staff members, there will be a chance of unwanted labor costs, and with few workers, there can be an issue with poor customer service as it can be risky for the patient’s health.

Big data will be a great solution to this problem. As data from various sources can be used for daily predictions of how many patients will be there at a specific time. Thus, with big data, one can easily determine and predict the patterns to improve staffing based on patient admission rates.

Avoiding Human Error
It has been found that several times, employees dispatch different medications or prescribe the wrong medicine by mistake. And big data can be utilized to reduce such types of human errors by examining the prescribed medicine and customer data. Thus, this software can alert you to the prescription mistakes made by physicians to help save lives.

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
Before the launch of the Internet of Things, doctor's and patients interaction was limited to physical visits. And doctors or hospitals have no way to track their patient’s health records. However, IoT-enabled devices offer remote monitoring in the healthcare sector, thereby generating the potential to keep patients safe. Along with this, remote monitoring of patients’ health will help in avoiding admission and reducing the time duration of hospital stay.

As a result, IoTs will reduce healthcare costs and enhance the treatment results. From the IoT evolved the IoMT (Internet of Medical Things), and it is a new thing in 2022, however it will grow exponentially in the near future.

Today, there are several companies that offer IoMT solutions that can help the healthcare sector design and tune IoMT systems with the help of complex custom software.

If you are casting around for a partner in designing customized IoMT solutions, get in touch with us!

The incorporation of the Internet of Medical Things into the healthcare industry will certainly benefit physicians, patients, and insurance companies as well.

According to research conducted by precedence, the overall internet of medical things (IoMT) market has touched a value of $39.3 billion in the year 2020 and it is estimated to reach a value of $172.4 billion by 2030.

This is because IoMT allows a considerable modification in patient awareness. As with trackers, one can get access to real-time data on a daily basis and can offer changes if there are any. And with all the collected information, including nutritional habits, sleep patterns, and other several parameters, the healthcare professionals can create realistic daily coaching programs and efficiently track the treatment progress.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) In Healthcare
The introduction of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare will simplify the lives of doctors, patients, and administrators by performing tasks that are usually performed by humans at a low cost and in less time.

With AI, you can find connections between genetic codes, survey chronic diseases, conduct risk evaluations, and drive surgeries through robots. AI in healthcare is recreating modern healthcare with the help of machines that can predict, evaluate, learn, and act accordingly.

With that being said, AI in healthcare offers several advantages, like:

Diagnosing and minimizing errors
FYI, medical errors and misdiagnosis account for 10% of overall death in the USA. Artificial intelligence is the most advanced technology that will improve the entire diagnostic process.
High caseloads and insufficient medical histories can lead to deadly errors. But, AI can assist in predicting and diagnosing diseases quickly as compared to medical professionals.

Analytics for pathology tests
Pathologists offer one of the important pieces of diagnostic data for patients across the wide spectrum. At present, seventy percent of all decisions in the healthcare industry are based on a pathology result, so the more accurate the results will be, the sooner the patient will get the right diagnosis. AI in healthcare will help pathologists to eliminate the obstruction from data management and use AI-enabled image results to associate data points that support the diagnosis and treatment.

Drug and Vaccine Creation
Since there are hundreds and thousands of molecules out there, researchers will not be able to test all these molecules manually. And without testing all the molecules, it is not possible to discover which molecule is more fitted to fight against a specific disease.

However, with AI, experts will first feed parameters and will search through all the molecules to compare them against the parameters. The AI system will keep learning from the data generated and will find out compounds that are equipped to fight specific diseases. In the same way, vaccines can be developed and tested with the use of AI.

Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual Reality utilizes computer-generated models of a 3D environment that will allow a person to visualize and hear using specialized equipment like headsets.

This technology creates a simulated environment for users to immerse in. Virtual Reality can offer users a virtual experience instead of displaying things on the screen. And the healthcare industry these days is utilizing VR to offer better treatment to patients.
VR technology statistically provides healthcare workers with advanced training so that there can be better outcomes. VR is proven to reduce skill fade by 52 percent and increase retention by 75 percent.

However, the healthcare industry is still in its very initial stage, therefore now the healthcare industry is realizing the importance and challenges posed by Virtual Reality. With VR Technology, doctors can find out about the tumor before performing any operation. In addition to this, a medical student can explore the complexity of the human body and patients can entertain themselves by playing Virtual Reality video games.

Thus, VR has no limits to what it can offer in the healthcare sector.

Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that technology plays a crucial role in the advancement of healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, Healthcare technology trends are still an ongoing process where new trends are appearing daily in the healthcare industry.

However, to follow technology transformation in healthcare, you have to think about technology to drive innovation. You can freely select the above-mentioned technology you want to use to offer better patient care based on your requirements.

If you want to improve your existing medical software system or want to design a new solution for your healthcare system, you can consider Extern Labs. Let us assist you in leading the path to future healthcare technology trends.

Contact us today to get a free quote!

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