Emerging technology is transforming the healthcare industry by innovating in areas of research, analysis, monitoring, and treatment. A recent HIMSS Future of Healthcare report found that 80% of healthcare organizations plan to increase their investment in these emerging technologies within the next five years.
As healthcare organizations adopt these new technologies, they’ll provide better patient care, improve operational efficiency, and have a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Here are the top ten leading innovations in the healthcare industry:
(VR) Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is no longer just a video game platform but has extended to real-world applications. VR applications help train surgeons and doctors, placing them in simulated environments where they can practice without putting real patients at risk.
VR can also help with therapy treatments to help patients cope, work through, and treat various medical problems in a safe, non-threatening environment. Medical professionals can leverage these VR programs for cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personalized Medicine
As these emerging technologies in healthcare collaborate to improve patient care, medical professionals can now offer more personalized medicine for their patients instead of recommending “one-size-fits-all” treatments and medications. AI, genomics, and digital twins are technologies that allow a doctor to create a very personalized treatment plan that optimizes care.
(AI) Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more ever-present in almost every industry. In healthcare, AI has taken massive strides in processing and analyzing large data sets to find trends, patterns, and solutions for better patient care, diagnoses, and treatment plans.
By allowing AI to do the heavy lifting for research, medical professionals can now access better information without putting in long hours to come to the same result, allowing them to spend more time on patient care.
Learn more about our Smart Care Routing technology that enables healthcare organizations to automate communication, administrative, and triage tasks, reducing operational costs while improving efficiency.
Related: Pros and Cons: AI in the Medical Field
3D Printing
Advances in 3D printing have created game-changing solutions for medical treatment. 3D printers are capable of creating:
- Implants
- Joints
- Prosthetics
Physicians and surgeons can now design these prosthetics to match a patient’s exact measurements, providing optimal comfort and mobility. They can also print replicas of a patient’s anatomy, allowing surgeons to practice the exact procedure before performing it on the patient to improve their success rate.
These printers are also advancing to bio-printing. Bio-printing allows a scientist to create:
- Blood vessels
- Synthetic ovaries
- Artificial organs
- Skin cells
The ability to create artificial organs that a patient’s body will accept will be revolutionary, saving millions of people every year.
(RPM) Remote Patient Monitoring
Legislative changes from the COVID-19 pandemic and technology advancements in IoT have enabled the rapid adoption of remote patient monitoring (RPM). RPM allows medical personnel to monitor, analyze, and track patient conditions regardless of location.
RPM provides real-time data for faster response times, reduced costs, and improved patient care. While RPM can be applied to a variety of medical conditions, the most common monitoring is for:
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- Weight
- Blood sugar
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Related: Pushing the Boundaries of Virtual Care
Telemedicine
Another emerging technology that is reshaping healthcare is telemedicine. The pandemic dramatically increased the adoption of telemedicine because of the need for social distancing. But now, telemedicine is widely used in conjunction with in-person visits. Many healthcare organizations continue to use telemedicine to increase access and availability of primary care, urgent care, and clinic collaboration.
By allowing patients to reach out through telephone applications and the Internet to receive care, it offers more convenience, comfort, and immediate care. Medical professionals can also provide better care to those who are geographically isolated, elderly, or have other special needs.
mRNA Technology
Messenger ribonucleic acid, mRNA, is an emerging healthcare technology that enables the rapid development of vaccines to combat diseases and illnesses that threaten the community. mRNA provides a genetic code to cells, allowing them to create viral proteins needed to produce an immune response.
mRNA can be used for more than developing vaccines. Because the mRNA can code any protein, the technology can be leveraged for a wide variety of treatments, enabling the body to create the necessary proteins to heal. mRNA solutions are more efficient and cost-effective than traditional vaccines, medications, or antibiotics.
Wearable Devices
Fitbit was one of the first to popularize wearable health devices. Now, wearable tech has transformed into more meaningful options like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) for diabetics. Wearables can monitor and track health-related markers. Combined with RPM, wearables can provide meaningful, accurate data to medical professionals to ensure the patient’s health.
Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine integrates nanotechnology to work on atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels. This innovative technology is just beginning to see its potential in healthcare. Nanomedicine may revolutionize how we detect and treat bodily damage. It is also demonstrating that it has significant therapeutic advantages.
Keep Up With Technology
Healthcare organizations should seriously consider investing more in these emerging healthcare technologies because they can improve patient care, operational efficiency, and lower costs. Many of these technologies do the heavy lifting when it comes to researching, analyzing, and tailoring treatment solutions that can offer a more personalized solution to patient care.
Clearstep offers advanced AI tools to identify operational efficiency and manage patient experience. By investing in our system, you can increase satisfaction and retention with patients. Our Smart Care Routing™ technology automates everyday tasks, reduces staff stress, and opens up your schedule to focus on what matters most.
Want to implement an AI solution that can improve your organization’s patient care? Sign up for a demo of our Smart Care Routing™ solutions.
Related: Cost-Cutting Strategies for Hospitals and Health System Operations
