Digital Health is emerging as a strong area of technology adoption and impact. The last two years have created a big impetus in this space. 

• According to McKinsey, as of 2019, Digital Health represented a global market of approximately $350 billion. Here, 49 percent of the Digital Health companies were in the care-delivery category (like effective therapies, providing remote patient support, or supplying therapies to patients) – making about a $157 billion market (as of 2019).
• The IMARC Group also saw robust growth here since 2015 and expects the market to grow at a CAGR of around 13 percent during 2021-2026.
• The global Digital Health market size – as reckoned by Precedence Research – was spotted at $181.8 billion in 2020.
• Statista predicts the Digital Health market to reach nearly $660 Billion by 2025. 

Such a staggering growth and size of the market will create massive opportunities for professionals and entrepreneurs with relevant expertise.

So, what is Digital Health?

Healthcare is rapidly shifting towards innovative care delivery models, such as virtual, remote, and alternate care. In addition, the deployment of AI, advanced data analytics, IoT, and other emerging technologies and data-driven tools are changing healthcare solutions and delivery systems. Digital Health is the use of technology processes, tools, and services to facilitate better healthcare services. We have witnessed it as Electronic Health Record (EHR), Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Wearables, etc. It is visible in ways that iron out barriers in the smooth functioning of healthcare processes. This space is also witnessing the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and analytics platforms. Using on-demand technologies, Cloud, and advanced storage also strengthens the scale and affordability of Digital Health.

Building Digital Health capabilities

Digital Health is rapidly advancing in specific health applications like patient-apps, telehealth, medical wearables, digital healthcare systems like EMR and EHR medical apps, healthcare analytics, etc. The basic idea is to elevate patient care, disease management, and the overall healthcare experience while improving efficiency and cost management on the side of healthcare providers. On the initial curve, it helps to avoid duplication and errors, but on the higher levels, it can also improve the speed and precision of diagnosis. This can play a big role in making healthcare proactive, self-service oriented, and hassle-free.

Digital Imaging, for instance, is about visualization of lesions, radiological interpretation, and a rule-out or rule in diagnosis, explained Prof. Jaya Prakash in a recent webinar on “Ask Me Anything: Digital Health Programme by IISc and TalentSprint”. This also covers image processing and reconstruction. “In CES 2020, Digital Health was an enormous space. The global Digital Health market has grown from $144.2 billion in 2018 to $206 billion in 2020. That makes it a very attractive market. Strong technologies here are AI, Blockchain, etc.” He translated this growth from a talent perspective. “This is a space which marks the need for continuous learning.”

In a recent webinar on “Ask Me Anything: Digital Health Programme by IISc and TalentSprint”, Prof. Jaya Prakash and Prof. Ambedkar Dukkipati from IISc shared the details of Programme

Ramesh Mohanty and Susan Thomas from TalentSprint, also shared the important aspects of the special programme being started and executed in five modules. It underlines the ease of learning but with a significant depth covered in Digital Health. Learners can easily sharpen their capabilities with just some initial level of comprehension and comfort with new tools.

Prof. Ambedkar Dukkipati from IISc added that the programme would also focus on conceptual and hands-on aspects of machine learning, deep learning, imaging, and health tools. “Anything that you want to formalize – needs some level of basic proficiency. Like machine learning would need a certain mathematics understanding. We are not asking you to go from scratch, but some context and passion for these areas would be helpful. A grasp of Python, Tensor Flow, Pytorch, and CNN would be desirable. One should be able to understand some fundamental level of syntax and code.”

He also showed how other tools on data aspects would come in. “Everything involves optimization. We would cover probabilistic models. We will also give hands-on training on deep learning modules.” 

As to statistical calculations, the course is more about solving the problem and not just calculating numbers, clarified the professors for some curious students.

Getting started

Digital Health are transformative technologies in healthcare, emphasized Prof. Dukkipati. “Join if you are willing to learn continuously. Or/and if you wish to make a technology change. Especially if you are not afraid of change. Join if you are young at heart and mind.”

Indeed. The past was about doctors wearing stethoscopes. But the future is about patients wearing devices and data. Start mastering this future early on with the right dose of talent building relevant capabilities in Digital Health.

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In healthcare, the focus is accentuated on factors like accuracy, prediction, prevention and collaboration. As we move forward, consumers and providers would embrace precise, virtual, engaging, cooperative, and instant healthcare. The emphasis on digital forces, data, engagement, anywhere access and personalization will get much stronger in the next few years.

Healthcare- evolves and expands

The global healthcare spending between 2020 and 2024 is expected to rise at a 3.9% CAGR, considerably faster than the 2.8% recorded in 2015–2019 and is expected to reach over $10 trillion by 2024. According to Deloitte’s Healthcare Outlook 2021, global health care spending as a share of  GDP will likely remain at around 10.2 percent through 2023. It would be influenced strongly by increased demand for care, labor costs, clinical and technological advances. 

What’s remarkable here is,

• Healthcare consumers are expected to show greater engagement and involvement
• They will show more inclination and openness to virtual visits and 
• There would be an increase in using technology for health monitoring 

Let’s break this down into some specific sub-trends.

Digital healthcare trends, that will stay in 2021 and beyond

1. Virtual care
   This is a no-brainer. As people continue to exercise caution, and as social distancing becomes a norm, the need for virtual enablement would be crucial for healthcare. Whatever experiments and adoption patients saw during 2020 and first few months of 2021, would continue to gain pace. According to a recent Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions report, almost 65 percent of healthcare providers in Europe have already increased the adoption of digital technologies. And 64 percent have increased adoption towards virtual care and support and better engagement with patients. 

As technology gets more and more sophisticated, the penetration of virtual tools would get deeper and deeper.

2. Telemedicine
   This is an off-shoot of virtual enablement. When healthcare institutions and hospitals of all sizes were busy handling emergency cases and Corona patients, the other parts of healthcare quickly shifted to Telemedicine. 

Consultations and diagnosis became possible and turned swiftly on a telemedicine platform. From mental health to child care to skincare – almost every specialty found a savior in the speed and reach that Telemedicine provided. This will continue its traction. The recent Deloitte Health Care Consumer Response to COVID-19 Survey shows that consumers using virtual visits grew from 15 percent to 19 percent between 2019 and 2020, and this number jumped to 28 percent after April 2020. 80 percent of consumers have said they are likely to have virtual visits even in the post-pandemic scenario.

3. Telehealth with CX
   While technology adoption will continue to rise,  providers and solution-makers would have to ensure that they do not compromise on the patient experience. Customer Experience or CX has become a dominant theme for every industry in the age of digitization- more so after the pandemic. An Econsultancy and Adobe Digital Trends 2021 survey has identified some substantial barriers to success in marketing and experience. For ‘mainstream’ CX businesses (those whose CX capability ranged from ‘immature’ to ‘somewhat advanced’), the continued use of legacy systems was voted as the barrier them back from their true potential (43 percent), followed by workflow issues (42 percent) and a lack of digital skills or capabilities (35 percent). This suggests that, despite advances at these companies in 2020, old processes and outdated knowledge continue to hamper efficiency and digital maturity. Healthcare majors and visionary pioneers would have to make sure that they solve this problem to make the best use of tech adoption.
4. AI-based diagnosis and prognosis
   When everything happens in a hybrid-set-up, and when doctors are hard-pressed for time, it is only natural that healthcare embraces automation and analytics rapidly. The speed and accuracy that Artificial Intelligence tools and modern analytics solutions provide is unprecedented. 

Patients will become more open and comfortable using these tools – especially bots- before diving into costly and time-heavy consultations with human professionals.

5. Care-model revamp
   Deloitte’s report stresses that health care organizations around the world are struggling to solve long-pending challenges of affordability, access, quality, and efficiency. These issues cannot be fixed with existing healthcare models. 

New models would have to emerge to add speed, agility, and better patient experience across the spectrum. Such advanced models would be supported by a robust digital health ecosystem encompassing various technologies and segments like IoT, SaaS, EHR, EPS, wearables and implantables, tele monitoring, remote consultation and education, 3D printing,  precision medicine, predictive modelling and analytics, etc.

Get ready to tap into digital health opportunities

More disruption is expected in the broader health ecosystem as we look for ways to improve diagnosis, care, services, and a better patient and clinician experience. There is a clear sign of widespread adoption of virtual care, new partnerships, new markets, new disruptors, and more. The emphasis on personal health will keep growing. Almost 72 percent of consumers prioritize personal health, and 60 percent of physicians are shifting from current approaches to prevention and well-being. Also, 75 percent of consumers want to work in partnership with providers to reach their healthcare goals.

The next decade would be all about personal healthcare and enhanced collaboration on an industry level for faster research for the cure, vaccines, and predictive healthcare. It’s the perfect time to gain the capabilities to speak a new language. As a professional or entrepreneur, you cannot afford to miss this next big bus. It’s time to build relevant capabilities and tap into promising opportunities in this space. 

The post 5 Digital Healthcare Technology Trends to Watch in 2021 and Beyond appeared first on TalentSprint.

Many exciting things are happening in the digital health space. We bring you the top seven trends and opportunities in digital health that may interest you.

On-demand healthcare

In today’s times, everyone is busy. People may not have time to see a doctor and may like to talk to a doctor at their own convenient time. Gone are the days when people would go to see a doctor and wait for their turn. Nowadays, with most people being on the move, they try to find a doctor wherever they go. Also, with healthcare apps easily available on mobile phones, there is a clear trend of people moving online for consultation and follow-ups with their doctors.

Big data in healthcare

Big data is all about aggregating information about a business or industry and identifying patterns and trends that can be used to get some actionable insights. In healthcare, here are a few examples.

• Analysis of patient records to identify any mismatch between the patient’s health and prescribed medication and alert the concerned medical professional in case of an error.
• Identifying people with a pattern of recurring illnesses and creating preventive plans and treatment options for them.
• Analyzing the number of patients getting admitted, identifying trends or patterns, and estimating future admission rates. This can help to maintain adequate staff at all times.

Virtual reality (VR) in healthcare

Virtual reality can have multiple healthcare industry applications and may change the way patients are treated. For example, pain management is a significant area for concern for medical professionals. With several drugs available to manage pain, the medical community is worried about the effects of long-term use of these medicines. Virtual reality offers a better and safer alternative that can help people manage pain more efficiently than drugs. Also, if a surgeon has to perform complicated surgery, a virtual reality simulation can help him/her plan it perfectly. There are multiple uses of virtual reality technology, making it one of the most eagerly awaited technological advancements in healthcare. Some reports suggest that the global virtual reality market in healthcare might cross the US$5 billion mark by 2025.

Wearable medical devices

A few years ago, people were satisfied with getting a physical and medical examination done once a year and visited the doctor only if anything went wrong. However, today, people want to control their health and regularly need more information about themselves. This has led to an increase in the demand for wearable devices like exercise trackers, sensors measuring heart rate, sweat meters to measure blood sugar levels, etc. In the coming years, we expect technological advancements in wearable gadgets that might see a surge in such devices’ demand.

Predicting illness and disease trends

Another area where digitization is expected to make an impact in the healthcare industry is analyzing data from social media platforms and search engines to determine medical conditions and illnesses that most people are facing. This can help the industry create a predictive model and prepare for the next big health issue.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare

Artificial intelligence or AI is the embodiment of innovation in the healthcare industry. AI-powered tools like chatbots and virtual health assistants have already found many takers, and in the future, we expect this segment to have a surge in investments impacting almost all aspects of the industry. We can expect a critical application of artificial intelligence in precision medicine, medical imaging, genomics, etc. For example, most patients who have cancer received similar treatments. However, with artificial intelligence, medical practitioners will be able to offer personalized treatments based on the patient’s lifestyle and genetic composition. Artificial intelligence will also help biotech and pharmaceutical companies develop drugs faster by leveraging machine learning algorithms.

Blockchain and health records

While blockchain is usually associated with cryptocurrencies, this technology can have a far-reaching impact on the healthcare sector too. In the simplest terms, blockchain can be understood as a digital ledger of transactions with high security and easy access levels. It is already helping the healthcare industry cut costs, prevent data breaches, and improve the records’ accuracy. This is expected to grow with time and change the shape of the way healthcare professionals view and manage health records.

Digital health is bringing a cardinal shift in the way the healthcare industry works. This would create many career opportunities for young professionals. Hence, if you are working at the intersection of healthcare and technology building eHealth, telemedicine, personalized healthcare, biotech, medical devices, wearables, digital therapeutics, and similar solutions, then it is the right time to think about adding new skills to your profile and be at the forefront of this significant shift.

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