2020 changed life as we knew it. And along with it came the adaptability and emerging trends in several areas of life. The medical world is one of them. Digital Health and Virtual Care evolved from mere convenience to an absolute necessity over the last few months
The scope and scale of telehealth touched newer heights with improvements in virtual care. Telemedicine is not a passing fad but is something that is slowly and steadily becoming a part of our lives.
As more and more people accept and adapt to virtual care there arises a greater need for easier access to the ones living in remote locations.
From on-demand virtual care, online doctor appointments, home health services, tech-enabled medication administration, online prescription and delivery of medication the list is endless where the healthcare system pushed itself to cater to the population.
All eyes are set on 2021 which is being seen as the year of Digital Health and Virtual Care boosting it further making it available and accessible to everyone.
Also Read: Healthtech trends that are helping HCPs to tackle COVID-19
Let’s look at how the current trends are going to shape up the healthcare sector in future.
Spike in on-demand healthcare: Like on-demand video streaming, on-demand healthcare is the next big thing that is catching up with users fueled by the handy mobile phones. Users today want personalization and virtual care whenever as per their convenience. Stats show that 47% of users search for doctors online on their mobile phones while 77% book online appointments. Physicians themselves are making the most out of this rising trend where they can choose to serve patients with the changing needs of the digital era.
Digital healthcare connectivity: Three factors driving the virtual healthcare change are: convenience, cost and experience. This calls for healthcare systems to rely more on digital tools and align and provide connectivity and accessibility across digital devices. Digital connectivity will be seen as a new social indicator across classes especially filling the digital gap among the vulnerable social groups and communities.
Wearable medical devices: The wearable technology and its benefits are aplenty. Now, with wearable medical devices, patients no longer have to rely on their physicians for their stats. Users are more empowered as they can track their health status themselves and demand information as to how they can improve the same. This has led to healthcare companies investing in wearable tech which provides the wearer with up-to-date health status while notifying high-risk patients of a major health event.
Importance of big data: Big data in the healthcare industry offers various benefits. Some of them include preventive care – which can be deployed at ERs among the recurring patients visiting the emergency rooms. This big data analysis will lead to reducing the number of repetitive visits by incorporating preventive methods. Big data analysis can also help in instances where there is a discrepancy between a patient's health record and prescriptions eliminating medication error. The most important big data analysis is its predictive capabilities to indicate future admission rate which helps hospitals and clinics to arrange for resources accordingly.
Predictive healthcare: We now know how big data can provide hospitals with predictive analysis helping them deploy their resources efficiently. But another factor which is transforming the digital health landscape is illness/disease prediction which is going to be a major future medical trend. Even right now companies send out information to users on how to stay healthy according to their lifestyle data collected. But this takes it a notch higher. Predictive healthcare will also keep a track of the most searched medical keywords on the internet and accordingly make predictions as to in which geography the next major health scare is likely to occur.
Inclusion of Artificial Intelligence: The medical industry is investing big in AI which was until now used to just introduce the medical practitioner to the patient through chatbots or medical droids used to help hospital staff in daily chores such as sample collection. But the future of the healthcare industry will see AI-enabled precision medicine, drug discovery, genomics and even medical imaging. How will this help patients? By giving them a personalized medical treatment customized best to their genetic makeup.
Also Read: How can technology enable efficient COVID-19 vaccine delivery?
Takeaway
As the healthcare system evolves and benefits from the digital age it is crucial for the medical industry to tap the full potential of how technology can influence virtual healthcare. Inclusion of data analysis, transforming process and system, data security, compliance and more can offer healthcare players more room for improving their efficacy in dispensing their services.
If you want to know more about different healthcare software and how they can be of benefit to you then our experts are here to help you.