E-HEALTH - E-SANTE - PHARMAGEEK

So top healthcare digital transformation trends in 2023 are as follows:

1. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
2. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
3. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
4. Improved Big Data & Analytics
5. Cloud Migration
6. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
7. Cognitive Automation (CA)
8. FinTech Integration
9. Interoperability and Connectivity
10. Telehealth
11. Data Breach Prevention
12. Network Strategies
13. Tailored Patient Experience

1. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

According to Precedence Research, the global internet of things (IoT) in healthcare market size was valued at $180.5 billion in 2021 and it is expected to reach around $960.2 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.41% during the forecast period 2022 to 2030.

Wearables and trackers are a huge part of healthcare information technology development. Their key benefit is providing real-time and detailed data on the patients’ health states, which is precious for doctors’ observation.

2. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Data security is still a key industrial concern, and cybersecurity will appear relevant among trends in the health information technology industry for a long time. All future technological enhancements will stick to the requirement to possess a significant security layer. The ultimate goal is to protect sensitive patient data delivered online.

At the end of 2021, the number of weekly attacks on healthcare reached an average of 626 per organization and is constantly growing. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation stated that over 40 million patients’ healthcare records were compromised in 2021, as half of the internet-connected hospital devices are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

3. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Of the latest trends in the healthcare industry, RPM occupies a special place. COVID-19 also contributed to turning remote patient monitoring into the current tendency in the medical field. The rise of virtual healthcare takes many forms, including online appointments, remote care, and video conferencing. And the wide range of IoMT devices empowers RPM with even more opportunities.

According to Research and Markets, the global RPM systems market is projected to be worth over $175.2 billion by 2027, compared to $53.6 billion in 2022.

4. Improved Big Data & Analytics

According to Frost & Sullivan’s forecast, introducing AI technology in healthcare data analytics can save the industry at least $150 million by 2025. Such an achievement is possible thanks to real-time and long-distance analysis and measurement of patient data. Given such striking cost-effectiveness, the AI trend will hit its stride in the next few years.

For medical providers and researchers, the COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted data analytics, along with the immense challenge of real-time decision-making under rapidly changing conditions. Healthcare providers can get lost in dozens of spreadsheets and meetings if processed manually. That’s why the digital future inevitably includes technology capable of processing Big Data instead of humans and providing real-time analytics for decision-makers.

5. Cloud Migration

Cloud migration in healthcare is now in full swing and will see significant growth in the future. MarketsandMarkets states that the global healthcare cloud computing market is projected to reach $89.4 billion by 2027, from an estimated $39.4 billion in 2022 at a CAGR of 17.8% during the forecast period.

It solves many major challenges in service delivery, including record management, remote care, and reaching low-income patients. Providers worldwide use the cloud to efficiently manage emails and electronic medical records (EMRs) and make real-time data available to healthcare professionals.

6. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

The World Healthcare Organization (WHO) predicted that the global healthcare worker shortage could reach 12.9 million professionals by 2035, making in-person medical appointments a luxury few patients can afford. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only aggravated things. Wide-scale adoption of robotic process automation (RPA) solutions in healthcare may cure medical system inefficiencies.

RPA-empowered bots are a significant milestone in healthcare information technology development. Health providers can experience accurate automation, cost reduction, staff optimization, and even introduce transformational changes with the know-how. On the patient side, AI algorithms can guide people to the needed doctor by scanning their symptoms more accurately than traditional search engines.

7. Cognitive Automation (CA)

Among the emerging healthcare technology trends, it is worth highlighting CA. Cognitive Automation is the next-level tendency for true digital transformation. These days, it’s among emerging IT market trends in healthcare, but the tech package and applicability are about to change the state of managing an industry to the core. It takes the achievements of RPA but applies the mimicking of human behavior beyond the repetitive tasks. In short, it serves as the digital brain of the healthcare organization.

In essence, CA takes the automation capabilities of current software providers and applies ML algorithms to introduce decision velocity in the industry. It becomes possible to process zettabytes of data within seconds and provide decision-makers with ready-to-accept recommendations backed up by real-time data. The ultimate goal is to establish a self-driving enterprise where all the operational processes are automated.

8. FinTech Integration

Healthcare spending is likely to reach $6 trillion by 2027. Until recently, the healthcare system tended to be an old-school bureaucratic system. But now, many hospitals and medical institutions have turned to the tech industry to improve their filing and billing processes, and tech has begun delivering.

The financial technology covers insurance, management services, digital payments, settlement services, capital-raising, deposits, and credit services. Thus it facilitates and streamlines healthcare processes by lowering the cost of financial services. Through robotic investment advice, P2P lending, mobile payments, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain technologies, fintech boosts the healthcare sector by mitigating inefficiencies in its payment plans.

9. Interoperability and Connectivity

It is another healthcare tech trend that popped up during the global pandemic due to the lack of data interoperability. It has slowed caregivers down for years and impacted their ability to provide the best possible care.

The interoperability and connectivity of medical devices are widely recognized as important factors in helping hospitals achieve better patient data flow, synchronization, quicker and more accurate identification of high-risk patients, and improving the overall outcome.

10. Telehealth

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has seen the wildest growth and has become one of the hottest trends in the healthcare industry. 82% of customers experienced telemedicine for the first time since the start of COVID-19.

According to Precedence Research, the telemedicine market is poised to grow from about $60.8 billion in 2022 to $225 billion in 2030. It has become an integral part of the whole healthcare industry.

11. Data Breach Prevention

Over the years, the data breach issue has become more critical. According to the HIPAA Journal, today, the number of healthcare data breaches exceeds two times daily, which was a concern only once a day in 2017.

12. Network Strategies

The healthcare digital transformation market is growing at over 14% annually. In conditions where doctors actively use telemedicine and patients track their progress through wearables and mHealth apps, a network strategy is necessary.

Therefore, the implementation of network solutions for effective communication and data exchange between doctors, patients, and healthcare organizations is another trend in the medical field.

13. Tailored Patient Experience

Another prominent trend in healthcare is the provision of a tailored patient experience. It’s especially noticeable considering the global precision medicine market growth, which will reach $146.6 billion by 2028, in contrast to $65.9 billion in 2021.

In the coming years, implementing any new technology in the medical field will be carried out by putting the patient at the center of this process. Studying the specifics of each patient’s condition will help draw up more effective treatment plans and get better treatment outcomes.