By 2020, the value of the digital health and wellness market is pegged to grow to the US $206 Billion. Health care and health tech Apps have transformed from being a platform for interaction between doctors and patients to being a holistic record keeping, communication, and assistance solution for patients as well as their medical caretakers.
Technology is the primary pain point for medical professionals and personalization is what most medical marketers believe is the future of health tech. Today, in this article, we are going to take a look at some of the most emerging technologies you can incorporate while developing or upgrading your healthcare application and boost your user experience.
1. Blockchain
The use of Blockchain for record-keeping and creation of tamper-proof ledgers which aren’t only transparent but also convenient to share is what makes Blockchain the first emerging technology every health tech app should incorporate.
The use of Blockchain will allow hospitals to quickly pull all the data about a patient, their history and even any medications which they currently take. This easy access will help reduce the mortality rate and ensure time is not wasted in getting the required data and information about a patient in case of an emergency. The use of Blockchain will also eliminate the need for routine tests as the data will be already available for medical professionals to use.
Blockchain also helps you in finding the people fit for your clinical trial, and hence, will make it easy to manage the consent of patients towards new or riskier procedures in 2020.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI in the healthcare industry is taking over everything, and I mean everything literally. From assisted surgery to record-keeping, from preliminary diagnosis to medicine effect tracking, Artificial Intelligence is everywhere to be seen in 2020.
The Size of AI in the health and wellness industry is forecasted to grow by a CAGR of 40% through 2021 according to Accenture.
How can you incorporate A.I into your health care application?
1. Scheduling
If you have patients who need to be checked at constant and timely intervals, you can set up notification scheduling to your apps, so they are present on time when they need a follow-up.
2. Medicine Intake and Dosage Notification
If a patient has to take multiple medicines throughout the day, it is hard to remember what medication to decide at what time. This issue can be solved by having a notifier in the app which prompts you to take your medicine on time and also tells you what medication should you take in what dosage.
So, AI would remain to trend across the healthcare industry in 2020.
3. Wearable Integrations
Over 80% of consumers believe that wearables have massive potential in making healthcare more convenient. Devices such as Motiv act as a gateway into a more connected healthcare system which uses data from various kinds of sensors to keep an eye on the health of your patients. These sensors and data from them help patients with diseases like seizures and Type 1 Diabetes and help them lead a normal life.
Cheap and affordable fitness bands are also multiplying in popularity which can have a massive impact if appropriately monitored in 2020. The data can help insurance companies and hospitals in knowing the root cause and triggers behind a specific medical event. Apple Watch is one of the most popular watch/fitness trackers which has already captured a market of over 33 Million units and the data collected from such a vast market size can drastically change the healthcare world as we see it today.
The wearable market has been growing at a rate of 32% CAGR according to reports. However, the biggest issue it faces is the lack of common standards which make the wearable require standalone applications to function as intended. By the year 2024, the Industry will grow to a value of over US $25 Billion according to this report.
4. Virtual Care
Virtual Care or Telemedicine was popular in 2019 and even persists in 2020 due to the convenience it offers. Gone are the days when a patient had to sit in the doctor’s clinic and patiently wait for their turn. Now a doctor can be made available at the click of a button in the app.
Telemedicine is extremely important especially in the remote or rural areas which generally lack highly trained, and skilled professionals. Virtual Care can provide easy access to such highly skilled individuals even in the most remote areas. The revenue Telemedicine raked in the year 2017 was over 21.5 Billion according to reports, and the industry is forecasted to grow by a CAGR of about 15%.
A Major part of this revenue came in from sources such as
- Tele-Consulting/ Video Consulting
- Tele-Monitoring/ Video Monitoring
- Tele-Training & Education/ Video Training & Education
5. Chatbots and Predictive Analysis
Chatbots act as the first point of access for anyone who’s looking to get an appointment or a preliminary diagnostic. They can also act as the first point of contact instead of a human receptionist and can enroll the patient in the hospital’s database without wasting unnecessary time in trivial things.
Chatbots paired with a smart AI engine in 2020 can also help your healthcare application with Predictive Analysis, and it can help your backend team assign the patient to the appropriate doctor based on the symptoms patients declare to the Chatbots.
Personalization is another strong suit for Chatbots, and the potential they hold is endless. From patient servicing to preliminary diagnostic; there’s a reason why everyone is so excited about Chatbots in 2020.
Conclusions
We conclude this article here after observing and understanding the potential technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain hold shortly. The health tech industry is going to expand at an exponential rate in 2020, thanks to all the new developments in technology.
Technology is moving faster. Are you able to catch up? Are you ready for the transformation in the industry? Do your applications incorporate these new emerging technologies? If not, you should get in touch now and bring your overall customer experience to the best possible level. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling us what you think about our article here.
If you’re looking to see healthcare technology trends in action, do check our portfolio here or reach out to us at contactus@solutelabs.com.
