Imagine being rushed to a hospital for an emergency and the medical professional can access your health records from your name to ensure a proper diagnosis. Or, you’re prepared to undergo a high-risk surgery and with the help of robotics, the surgery is carried out with great precision, and you are back to your daily activities in no time.
Healthcare technology trends like AI, cloud computing, telemedicine, and robotics might look like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the truth is that they are closer to you than you realise.
Follow us closely as we examine the breakthrough discoveries in healthcare that have become more prevalent in 2024.
Top 12 Healthcare Tech Trends in 2024
The healthcare industry is constantly growing thanks to healthcare IT trends that have emerged to make processes more digitised. From automatic patient data management to mental healthcare and home healthcare, innovative gadgets and technologies have been developed to treat people so they can live longer and healthier.
Here are some top innovations you should consider investing in.
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
AI as a technology has seen rapid development in recent years and is still evolving. In the healthcare sector, AI is being used to aid processes like tomography scan analysis.
Generative AI also helps to automate routine activities like scheduling appointments and managing patients’ records to minimise errors, save time, and reduce patients’ waiting time.
Machine learning in healthcare can help medical experts identify patterns and accurately predict health outcomes. ML also makes it easier to diagnose and treat genetic diseases like cancer, which might be challenging to detect in their early stages.
2. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing technology securely stores patients’ health records on cloud servers for easy access and to prevent data loss. The primary consequence of this IT trend is that medical experts can make more informed decisions about treatment and collaboration. Collaboration also becomes seamless because medical researchers can share their resources.
Finally, cloud computing provides cloud-based communication tools for doctors and patients to interact.
3. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
When you hear the IoMT, simply think of a system of connected devices that help healthcare experts monitor and analyse health information. This technology is here to stay and should hit a global value of $ 588.9 billion by 2030.
The IoMT includes wearable and remote health monitoring apps like fitness trackers and heart rate monitors. They also include devices like neurostimulators, insulin pumps, and pacemakers.
These devices have sensors that collect data from a patient’s body to track their body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Ultimately, the information gathered helps health professionals to provide more personalised treatments.
4. Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed reality (MR)
These immersive technologies have revolutionised how medical experts are trained and how they diagnose and provide treatment.
VR allows healthcare trainees to interact with digital environments that mimic real-life scenarios to hone their professional skills. Mental health patients can also be immersed in a VR environment to help them manage and overcome their fears in a more controlled way.
Through processes like diagnostic imaging using AR, doctors can overlay 3D images on a patient’s body to help detect health issues and provide better treatment.
Finally, MR helps healthcare engineers interact with real life and the simulated world to create accurate virtual models of objects and environments.
5. Big Data Analytics
This technology is a big win for the medical industry, especially when you realise that medical experts interact with large volumes of data every day.
Studies have shown that the healthcare sector generates up to 30% of the world’s data.
Now that big data analytics is available, doctors can quickly examine patients’ health records to develop and customise treatments. By studying health patterns, they can also identify medications to prevent adverse reactions from a patient. On a much larger scale, health experts can monitor the health trends in a population to curb an epidemic or develop measures to prevent certain diseases from spreading.
6. Telemedicine and Telehealth
Telemedicine refers to using telecommunication to provide remote clinical services like diagnostic and medical treatments and non-clinical services like patient health education, remote counselling, and therapy sessions.
For example, a doctor can conduct diagnostic tests on patients by accessing their medical history documents and seeing them virtually to ask relevant questions using video conferencing platforms.
Without in-person visits, they can also use remote monitoring devices to monitor vitals like heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose levels. Additionally, they can recommend their patient to specialists close to them to gather information to develop a proper diagnosis.
7. Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine is one of the most promising and exciting health IT trends because of how it works. This technology involves using nanobots and nanoparticles that are invisible to the human eyes to perform medical treatment inside the human body. For example, nanobots deliver medication to a specific cell, tissue, or organ in the body.
They can also be injected into the body to look for early signs of a potential health issue because any symptoms appear. Other use cases where nanomedicine provides breathtaking solutions include cancer cell destruction, precision surgery, and chronic disease management.
8. Robotics and Healthcare Automation
Robotics and healthcare automation are potential solutions to the challenge of the shortage of healthcare workers. With the provision of robots that can be trained to mimic human actions, repetitive and time-consuming tasks like booking appointments, inputting data, and handling insurance claims would require minimal human involvement.
With such workload out of the way, operations become more efficient, and health workers can focus on more important tasks like their patients’ health. Furthermore, robots can be trained to perform delicate surgical procedures to minimise the risk of complications.
9. Organ Care Technology and Bioprinting
Organ transplant is a delicate medical procedure that has undoubtedly saved many lives, and this technology aims to aid the process by making organs viable for as long as possible. Organ care technology uses various devices to nourish vital organs like hearts, livers, and lungs so that they are preserved for several hours until they can be used.
It’s safe to say that 3D bioprinting is still in its formative years. Yet, it has made great progress, and its potential is awe-striking. Bio-printing uses bio-inks, living cells, and 3D printing to recreate organs and other living tissues, including cartilage, skin, hearts, and livers.
10. Smart Implants
Smart implants have great potential in treating cardiac, orthopaedic, and neurological health challenges. Smart orthopaedic implants have been used for medical procedures like spine fusion and fracture fixation. They are designed to provide health experts with real-time data while in the patient’s body.
In this case, the orthopaedic implants can measure metrics like force, pressure, stress, strain, and temperature in the body to ensure more personalised care for the patient.
Cardiac implants can monitor vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure and provide electrical stimulation to the heart when necessary. Additionally, neurological implants can help with Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy by monitoring brain activity and delivering electrical stimulation to the brain.
11. Telepsychiatry
Telepsychiatry is a subdivision of telemedicine that provides a more convenient way of giving psychiatric treatment to patients. The high point of this trend is that mental health services are now available to a larger audience.
This technology uses telephone and video telecommunications for online counselling and vital therapy sessions.
12. Chatbots and Virtual Healthcare Assistants
These AI-powered applications can interact with patients like a human would, either through text or voice messages. They can assist doctors in diagnosing illnesses, prescribing medications, and providing preliminary treatments for patients.
When they encounter a situation that they can’t handle, these virtual assistants can be programmed to redirect people to professional medical experts.
Unlike doctors who might not be available 24/7, online chatbots can provide health advice based on a patient’s input around the clock. Additionally, they can be integrated with patients’ electronic health records to remind them of their appointments and medication schedules.
Be a Part of the Future of Healthcare Today!
The beauty of technology is that it makes life easy while improving the quality of our lives. The value of the healthcare market in the U.S. is expected to grow to a whopping $ 6 trillion by 2026.
As such, there is no better time to leverage modern and innovative software to make your healthcare services efficient and your patients more satisfied.
If you’re unsure how to get started, make use of our Healthcare Software Development Services at Zartis. Our experts are here to help!
