Top 5 Digital Innovations & Trends in Healthcare

Jun 12

The healthcare industry has long been seen as slow to switch to digital, but emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) have already begun to significantly impact the way providers practice medicine. This has been spurred on by the changed realities brought on by the global pandemic. With a sharp decline in in-person visits, healthcare providers have needed to pivot quickly. Recent data shows us that in April 2020, over 43%of Medicare primary care visits were conducted via telehealth services. McKinsey now estimates that $250 billion of the total U.S. healthcare spending may go virtual in the years following the pandemic. Fortune Business Insights also estimates the telehealth market to cross $185 billion by 2026. Other trends are also expected to take hold—including extended reality and health drones. Here are the five emerging technologies you need to know about in healthcare.

(To learn more about how local hospitals in Vermont can implement these innovations, you can contact IT Services for Healthcare Vermont.)

Top 5 Digital Innovations & Trends in Healthcare

Ramping up of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare

AI, a subset of the broader field of machine learning, is a set of algorithms that allows computers to learn from data. It is used for many things in healthcare, including diagnosis, treatment, and research. AI is also known as computer vision or machine learning because it can learn to understand images or text based on training data (or examples). By analyzing large quantities of data from many different sources (such as patient records), AI can quickly identify patterns that humans might miss. For example:

An algorithm may be able to determine which patients are most likely to have heart disease based on their demographics and lab results; this could help doctors make better decisions about which tests should be ordered during annual check-ups
A computer program could analyze all the data collected by an EMR system over time—from doctors’ notes and test results—to predict when an illness will worsen or even begin showing symptoms so that preventative measures can be taken earlier than expected

AI is likely to see an extensive application in healthcare shortly. The future of AI and healthcare will revolve around the use of chatbots, telemedicine, and virtual care. Chatbots can help patients obtain vital information about their condition or treatment plan via text messaging. Meanwhile, virtual assistants can help nurses and doctors with administrative tasks like scheduling appointments or filing insurance forms. Finally, researchers are working on algorithms that predict patient outcomes based on data collected from medical records so physicians have better insight into an individual's health status before they even meet them in person.

Telemedicine and the Emergence of Mainstream Remote Care

In today's world, remote care is the future of healthcare. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications in medical practice. According to Forbes, “the telehealth industry will grow from $14 billion in 2016 to $27 billion by 2025”, with an even larger projected growth by 2030. Telemedicine has many benefits for both patients and providers. It improves access to healthcare for people living in rural areas or other places where it can be difficult to get care, such as a hospital or doctor’s office. It also helps reduce costs associated with travel time and travel expenses when traveling isn't necessary at all. For example, IT Outsourcing Vermont offers end-to-end management of remote healthcare facilities for local healthcare organizations.

Extended Reality in Healthcare

Extended reality (XR) is a technology that allows users to interact with digital content in a physical space. This means you can use your phone or tablet to see and interact with 3D objects in real-time as if they were right there in front of you. You'll soon be able to block out the world around you and immerse yourself in another universe like never before. And while this technology has been available for some time now—it was first used widely by gamers—it's finally becoming accessible enough for medical professionals and patients alike.

One of the most useful applications of mixed reality (MR) technology is Microsoft HoloLens 2, an MR headset that can provide information to surgeons during surgery and allow them to use both their hands while accessing heads-up information in a comprehensive dashboard. The device can be used as a collaborative tool, allowing doctors to communicate with each other while working with patients together in remote locations. This technology has already been used in surgeries conducted by doctors. The ability for one doctor to see what another is doing in real-time can make it easier for them to offer advice and support each other. The holographic nature of the device allows students and other professionals from around the world to observe surgeries and learn from them. The future will bring expanded uses for this technology into areas like nursing, where AR headsets could help nurses find veins from which to draw blood samples instead of relying purely on practice.

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and Wearables

IoT technology has been used in healthcare for years, but it has only recently become more accessible to consumers. Newer wearable products have made it easier for people to track their own health data, even if they don't have any medical training. A recent development in the Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of a smart pill, which transforms The Internet of Things into The Internet of Bodies. A smart pill is an edible microchip that not only serves as a pharmaceutical but also sends data about a patient's health to the care providers. The first Smart Pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was released in 2017.

Even as the industry trends toward using numerous microcontrollers in unison resulting in an Internet of Medical Things, getting all these computers to communicate with each other can be challenging. Another obstacle that needs to be overcome is that almost every manufacturer uses their own proprietary protocol to get their devices to talk to each other. This can make integration difficult. Connectivity issues such as environmental factors can disrupt communications. This indicates the need for stronger buffering methods on local microcontrollers and better security.

Wearable technologies are one example of how IoT can be integrated into everyday life, allowing users to monitor their own health and make better decisions about their wellbeing. Many people already use fitness trackers like Fitbit or Jawbone Up 24 to keep track of their exercise habits—but now there are more options out there that go beyond counting steps per day:

Apple Watch Series 3 includes a built-in ECG (electrocardiogram), which allows users who may have heart problems to check their heart rhythm without visiting a doctor's office first
Within Steel HR Sport Smartwatch tracks heart rate variability (HRV) through electrodes on its backside; measurements from these electrodes can indicate stress levels as well as sleep quality

Bioprinting

Bioprinting is the process of using 3D printers to print human tissues and organs. It has been a promising technology for healthcare in recent years but has yet to fully emerge into mainstream use. Bioprinting is complex and requires a great deal of research and development before it becomes viable for widespread use.

For example, bioprinters must be able to print the right cells at the right time with enough consistency that they can create living tissues or organs that function properly in the body. Researchers are working on this problem by studying how cells interact with each other during development, which will help them design better methods for printing cells together so they can grow into tissue structures that replicate healthy organs like livers or kidneys (or even brains).

Conclusion

We have an exciting future ahead of us. With new technologies emerging and changing the way we see healthcare, it’s clear we’re still in the early stages of how AI will transform medicine and patient care, but there are some innovative uses of this technology that are already revolutionizing our field. Other technological advancements- like IoT devices, 3D printing organs & cells, and telehealth- will also continue to grow exponentially over time as they become more widely adopted by medical professionals. IT Consulting Vermont offers extensive additional resources on emerging trends on the Internet of Medical Things.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Loyer is the president and CEO of Tech Group, LLC. IT Support Vermont company. With over 25 years of sales and service experience in network and network security solutions, Steve has earned technical and sales certificates from Microsoft, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Citrix, Sonicwall, Symantec, McAfee, Barracuda, and American Power Conversion. Steve graduated from Vermont Technical College with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology.