Electronic Health Reporter

Technology has impacted the way we do many things. Where it has become a partner in progress is in the healthcare industry. Many developments that were once the subject of science fiction have become reality in recent years. The COVID-19 virus has also pushed technology in healthcare into new places reaching greater heights. In this article, we will take a look at a handful of the most significant healthcare trends to develop this year.

1 – Telemedicine

Telemedicine has become a vital player in the healthcare industry. It has already improved it considerably through the remote delivery of medical services. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine was still mostly an idea that was not seeing a lot of action. Now, telemedicine has become a valued partner in the hands of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. As a result, it has a promising future in the delivery of healthcare to patients who are at home or cannot travel.

Reasons Why Telemedicine Is Growing

Telemedicine has assisted in handling various healthcare sector challenges. They include such things as:

– The increasing cost of the delivery of care

– The decline in health outcomes

– The increased number of patients with chronic diseases who are living longer

– An increase in competition

What Is In The Future For Telemedicine?

The coming years are going to be interesting. Telemedicine will continue to evolve with advancements in technology. Things to expect in the future may include:

– Telemedicine solutions decentralizing the healthcare system

– Better remote health insurance coverage

– Easier to use healthcare applications

– Telemedicine and small practices partnering 

– Innovative health software gaining popularity

There is no doubt that telemedicine is trending today. With the ongoing growth in the world of technology and medical technology, in particular, telemedicine is going to pave a new way into the future.

2 – Software As A Medical Device (SaMD)

Again, with advancements in technology, the software has become a big part of healthcare services. Software that is used in medical devices has progressed to four main categories. They are:

Software as a medical device (SaMD)

This is a standalone software that is used as a medical product in and of itself.

Software In A Medical Device (SiMD)

This is software that is contained within a medical device. It could be implanted software but requires a piece of medical equipment as a host.

Software as an accessory to a medical device

This would be a software program or tool that is required to operate a medical device or increase to the functionality of a medical device.

General-purpose software that is not a medical product

This is any other kind of software in use in the medical facility used for data collection, storage, and any other task that does not fall under the term of being a medical device.

What Is The Future For SaMD?

SaMD is a valuable tool that will continue to assist in the treatment of patients. With advanced technology, there is a long future for these products. They include:

Data-powered improved health outcomes

With easy and fast data collection methods that can be addressed by SaMD, existing treatment plans can be improved. This will also improve the medical outcomes for patient care.

Faster innovation

As SaMD enhances the functionality of existing medical devices through faster software solutions, and collect high volumes of data quickly, feedback is available sooner. This will drive faster innovation improving healthcare even more.

3 – Leaning Into Big Data

Big data is the term used to describe massive amounts of structured and unstructured data that can be used to solve problems that could not be resolved by traditional methods. In healthcare, big data is the use of prescriptive, predictive, and descriptive analytics to gain deep insights from the medical data collected.

There are three main goals for this process. They include:

– Improving clinical outcomes by using patient data

– Boosting workforce productivity by leveraging operational data

– Improving the revenue stream by using financial data

What Is The Future For Big Data?

Big data will continue to trend and is expected to penetrate deeper into the healthcare sector in the coming years. That growth will also be faster than all other medical trends simply due to the needs that big data can meet. With an increasing interest in investing in analytics, the information that is collected and stored to become big data holds many solutions that will improve healthcare services.

4 – Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI already plays a big role in healthcare. It includes chatbots, AI tech, and AI-assisted software. 

Chatbots

These automated systems interact with patients and through questioning, can suggest treatments based on available information. The chatbot learns from the responses it receives. They have also become common partners for doctors in the diagnosis and treatment phases.

AI Tech

This is what is used to convert patient records into readable digital data. This easily accessible format brings medical records to the hands of those needing them quicker. With a massive database, finding those records through traditional means would take a very long time. AI tech reduces that to minutes and provides sharing and input options in real-time.

AI-Assisted Software

This is being used to improve patient care. An example is robotics in the operating room. This increases the accuracy of procedures and eliminates human error resulting in better patient outcomes.

What Is The Future For AI?

According to Digital Authority Partners, by being a reliable consultation source for nurses, doctors, and all medical professionals, AI has cemented a relationship that can only get better. Expect AI to continue to play a huge role in healthcare services as technology keeps advancing.

In Conclusion

Technology and healthcare may have sounded like an unlikely combination at one time. However, with advancements in both industries, the pairing of the two has proven to be very beneficial to all who are involved. From the doctors and nurses to patients, technology has created many tools that have been trending and will continue to be in vogue for a very long time.