The health care landscape is rapidly evolving due to advanced technology, the need for easier access to care as illustrated by the pandemic, the focus by retailers on entering the space, and the use of precision medicines for personal care. Let’s take a look at some of the trends taking place this year.
AI and ML in Health Care
In a previous article, we discussed the impact artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have on health care. AI-based sensors can be used to track a patient’s biometrics 24/7. AI-powered virtual nurse assistants can easily call (and be contacted by) a large population of patients to see if they are feeling well, are taking their medications, and have any questions about their care. They can also help patients manage chronic conditions at home or after being discharged from the hospital. In addition, virtual nurse assistants can help empower people to age in place.
AI is also used in drug discovery, assisting in predicting clinical trial outcomes and the potential side effects of new drugs, as well as medical imagery analysis, which involves using computer vision algorithms to detect early warning signs of disease in X-rays or MRI scans. It has also been used to detect and treat neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Remote Health Care
About 25% of patients used telehealth last year, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), which initially gained tremendous traction during the pandemic when in-person physician visits were restricted. Expectations are that the technology used in telehealth will continue to improve to expand utilization on a regular basis, particularly with the increased drive for home-based care.
In addition to telehealth, another model of remote health care is the virtual hospital ward. This entails medical professionals in a centralized location caring for several remote patients, often with similar conditions.
Retail Health Care
Retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, and Amazon have ramped up their focus on in-home medical services and primary care. They offer services such as blood tests, vaccinations, and medical checkups. Consumers like that these retailers are more accessible than traditional health care providers. They are located in neighborhoods and are less impacted by labor shortages.
Retailers are also entering the home health care industry. CVS, for example, acquired home health care company Signify Health for $8 billion. Signify Health provides analytics and technology to a network of 10,000 clinicians to help them provide in-home health care to 2.5 million patients nationwide. CVS will incorporate Signify Health’s capabilities and clinician network into its portfolio, including 40,000 providers, 1,100 MinuteClinic locations, 9,000 retail drug stores, and Aetna, the nation’s third-largest health insurer.
Wearables
Individuals will increasingly use wearable devices to track their health and exercise activity. Clinicians will also use them to monitor patients remotely. Today you have smart watches capable of sophisticated scans such as ECGs, smart textiles that can detect blood pressure and predict the risk of heart attacks, and smart gloves that can reduce the tremors suffered by patients with Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent article in Forbes.
Personalized Health Care
In the last seven years, precision medicines have accounted for at least 25% of FDA approvals, illustrating the growth of personalized health care. Personalization is one of the modern health care foundations, advancing how we achieve better patient outcomes. Drugs and other treatments are tailored to a specific group of patients based on factors such as age, genetics, or risk factors rather than being administered in a one-size-fits-all manner.
Personalized health also lets patients choose how their care is planned and delivered. A personal treatment plan accounts for the patient’s circumstances, options, and beliefs about how and where they should be treated.
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