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The global pandemic has brought about unprecedented interference to every aspect of the medical care sector in a short time.
Even though the healthcare tech sector has been growing slowly in the past, development is essential to tackle the challenges it’s facing due to Covid-19. AI in healthcare, followed by other significant technological innovations, are essential to resolve the crisis and to generate future growth.
To have a better idea of where the healthcare tech sector is heading, it’s paramount to study the key technology trends. Moreover, if you’re a healthcare business, this will help you decide which emerging techs are worth investing in.
As healthcare technologies continue to grow, here are seven emerging healthcare technology trends, you need to keep an eye on in 2021:
1. Cloud Computing
Two most indispensable part of healthcare includes data collection & record keeping, and historically, healthcare suppliers have always had a difficult time managing this data.
And for this reason, cloud computing has been the go-to option for healthcare firms as it facilitates the management of all electronic medical records.
It’s beneficial for both healthcare providers and patients as it helps in making the consultation process much more consistent and spares valuable time. In addition to that, storing information with a cloud makes it possible for remote access and enables better collaborations.
With the advancement of medical care technology, the healthcare cloud computing market is expected to reach $35 billion by 2022.
2. Telemedicine
The practice of physicians consulting their patients virtually over physical consultations in clinics and workplaces has increased significantly during the Covid-19 crisis as populations worldwide have limited physical interactions. This practice has been successful in proving that remote consultations are not just plausible but also effortless and often preferable.
Experts believe that this is just the start and that the telemedicine size is expected to grow soon. In fact, telehealth’s growth is likely to continue, even when things get back to normal. In the US, 71percent of patients were considering telemedicine at the early start of the pandemic, while 50 percent had already leveraged virtual appointments.
Given the fact that most patients are comfortable receiving telemedicine solutions, it’d be plausible to say that the sector has a solid future.
3. AR & VR in Healthcare
Virtual, as well as augmented reality, are two incredibly significant technologies with immense potential to improve the quality of telemedicine solutions during the pandemic.
Whether it’s enhancing provider and patient visits or educating medical students, these technologies have become a key part of every aspect of healthcare. VR tech is currently being used for treating post-traumatic stress and chronic pain.
AR and VR techs show great promise in terms of helping stroke patients overcome motor deficiencies. For helping these victims regain motor control, they need to be kept in a solid environment. Nevertheless, segmented settings seem to offer more flexibility than physical therapy.
4. Artificial Intelligence
In the coming year, AI will play a major role when it comes to digital transformation in healthcare.
AI is not just a technological transformation trend in healthcare. It represents the quintessence of medical advancement. This explains why industry leaders are eager to spend millions on it. In fact, the healthcare AI market is estimated to surpass $34 billion by the year 2025.
Virtual healthcare assistants and chatbots are other AI-powered innovations that patients are becoming acquainted with nowadays. Chatbots have been used to fill roles as customer service representatives, diagnostic tools, and a multitude of other roles. Additionally, the healthcare chatbot market is anticipated to touch $314.4 million in 2023.
5. Healthcare Apps and Wearables
Another healthcare technology trend is companies gathering their own health information from medical tools, including wearable technology.
Before, patients were okay with undergoing one physical examination annually and only checking in with physicians when anything went wrong. However, in today’s digital age, and not to mention the pandemic, more people are focusing on maintenance and prevention and demanding data concerning their health more often.
Consequently, healthcare companies are investing in wearable technologies that can offer up-to-date data of high-risk patients to predict the likeliness of any major health event. A recent report suggests that the market for wearable medical devices is estimated to surpass $27 million by the year 2023.
6. 3D Bioprinting
Healthcare techs use 3D bioprinting for generating living tissues to analyze the molecular base of diseases by assessing the printed models. It’s also quite effective for studying terminal illnesses like tumors and cancer. Globally, the market for 3D bioprinting is predicted to reach 1.8 billion dollars by 2027.
7. Big Data & Predictive Analysis
Big data can offer several important benefits to the healthcare industry, from reducing the possibilities of medication errors, facilitating preventive care to more accurate staffing.
Another great benefit of big data is its ability to help pharmaceutical and healthcare companies understand their market better.
Predictive analysis can help organizations of all sizes in determining when to recruit temporary employees due to forthcoming outbreaks of diseases that could cause a shortage in workers.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, the state of technological transformation in healthcare for 2021 seems quite promising. And like any other business, the objective is to offer services or products that help fulfill a need or want or improve lives. Technology can assist you in achieving this goal.
