Healthcare Landscape in 2023
Raouf Hajji, MD, PhD.
HealthTech Futurist | Professor Assistant of Internal Medicine | Co-Founder & Medical Lead of International Medical Community (IMC)
Worldwide, the Healthcare system is continuously evolving with more and more adoption and improvement in emerging technologies used in our daily practice, biomedical research, and health academia.
In 2023, the situation continues to change: more technologies are integrated into the healthcare system, more MedTech startups are created, and more big firms are interested in the healthcare service.
There is no doubt that this tendency is continuing the healthcare changes observed for several years with the main goal of improving universal access to high-quality healthcare services.
This evolution is working on upgrading the qualities of medical technologies, fixing deficiencies, and diminishing their risks.
We highlight in this newsletter of @Healthcare Present & Future the 2023 Healthcare Landscape changes.
1. Patient experience improvement:
Patient engagement has dramatically changed several years ago with the advances in patient-centered healthcare, shared medical decisions, and mobile technologies. By becoming more aware of their rights, more informed about their diseases, and more active in their care, the patients can get more personalized healthcare. This tendency facilitates compliance to the treatment and the comprehension of possible adverse effects of therapy, then improves the outcomes of the disease and further lowers the healthcare costs.
By 2030, the market size of patient engagement solutions – which includes wearables, educational resources, and mobile apps – is estimated to reach $USD 74.28 billion, up from $USD 13.42 billion in 2021.
To increase patient engagement, the top priority for health organizations is improving the patient experience.
To respond to patient needs, some factors that healthcare leaders need to consider to enhance patient engagement include:
· Ease of access to patient data experience
· The patient’s digital experience
· Administrative efficiency
· Building in the human connection
· Recognizing the importance of work culture
2. Artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare changes:
AI has started changing the healthcare landscape. It has diverse and promising potentials in the healthcare industry, from improving patient care with data-driven clinical decision-making to streamlining healthcare system workflows. AI in healthcare needs to be human-centered, taking into consideration the needs of patients and healthcare professionals
AI can impact many healthcare areas including:
· Improving patient care from facilitating diagnosis accuracy to enhancing better follow-up
· Enabling physicians to simultaneously enhance their work performance while improving work/life balance with the reduction of unnecessary time-consuming tasks
· Supporting healthcare institutions to deliver quality care while optimizing resources
However, we need to reduce AI bias in healthcare, especially in the early stages of algorithm development. Similarly to clinical trials, diversity is still a massive issue in adopting AI in healthcare. The inclusion of minorities and underrepresented populations needs to be incorporated when creating AI-based algorithms. Additionally, patient privacy and algorithm transparency present challenging issues that regulatory agencies need to control.
3. Healthcare Robotics:
With their excellent industry progression, more robotics are adopted worldwide in healthcare systems. Medical robotics can reduce workload in the healthcare industry and assist humans in risky or rigorous tasks: Through automation and AI, these machines can perform a range of activities and support services – from facilitating the transport of patients and assisting in surgeries to delivering vaccines in remote areas.
In Japan, robots are helping nurses and healthcare workers in reception areas or guidance of patients to specific rooms within the hospital.
Within nursing homes, robots are performing numerous services, including monitoring falls or assistance needs, moving individuals, delivering goods, and communicating to provide comfort.
This adoption of robotics in assisted-living situations has the potential to reduce turnover among long-term healthcare personnel.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for better sterilization methods that were efficient and safe to help prevent disease transmission. To address this concern, healthcare systems looked to incorporate ultraviolet “C” light (UV-C) autonomous disinfection robots into hospitals and other clinical settings. By doing so, providers are ensuring that medical personnel and patients are better protected against the spread of infectious diseases.
Within the medical robotics sector, another promising area for improving health systems is using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. In 2021, the global commercial drone market size was valued at $USD 6.51 billion and is expected to grow to $USD 47.38 billion by 2029.8
Over half of the world’s population lack access to essential health services, and 100 million people worldwide experience extreme poverty due to health expenses.9 By safely, rapidly, and efficiently delivering medications, diagnostics, and medical samples to and from remote regions, drones offer a cost-effective means of improving outcomes, especially in remote, underserved communities like low- and middle-income countries.10
Drone industry expert Bill Wimberley, Head of Business Development, WINGCOPTER GmbH, highlights five use cases for drones that are going to transform and improve healthcare:
· Blood product and hazardous material transportation
· Vaccine and medicine delivery
· Diagnostics
· Organ transfers
· Transport of small medical devices
4. Mental health Future:
The global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% during this period, according to the World Health Organization (WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes mental health not only public health burden but also a social and economic issue. It has become the center of interest of healthcare, social, and financial experts. To help promote support and strengthen leadership for mental health, WHO created its Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 to help improve mental health services.
Investment in digital mental health solutions is on the rise. Some technological platforms enable more access to mental health services and connect patients with mental health providers. Through telehealth, on-demand, anytime therapy right from your mobile phone is now a possibility.
Here are five critical tactics for digital mental health solution providers from Sangit Rawlley, cofounder of Aiberry:
· Differentiate your solution
· Provide evidence-based outcomes for your solution
· Make it easy to adopt
· Offer a holistic solution focused on convenience
· Engage early with stakeholders
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5. Intelligent Heath Monitoring systems:
With the advances in the wearable healthcare technologies industry, people have become more interested in self-monitoring during work, rest, and physical activity. Intelligent health monitoring systems have facilitated access to personal health data, which changed the concept of medical care with more regular monitoring, better assessment, more accurate results, and earlier disease diagnosis. Continuous health monitoring through health wearables enables personalized, data-driven care. In addition, digital health software applications and sophisticated hardware provide individualized vital data and biomarkers and play a critical role in disease prevention.
For example, studies have illustrated the utility of wearables for exercise, cardiovascular health, and mental health. Furthermore, wearable devices, mobile technologies, and medical wireless biosensors can be used for clinical trials to obtain real-time data when enrolled subjects are at home, potentially leading to better patient engagement and clinical outcomes.
6. Staffing shortages, clinical burnout, and employee retention solutions:
During and after the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, the healthcare system was one of the most affected fields regarding staff shortages. Retirement, burnout, and employee retention are three significant issues causing staff shortages in the healthcare industry. These challenges became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic when an estimated 1 in 5 healthcare workers decided to leave the force. The WHO estimates we will need a further 18 million healthcare workers to achieve universal healthcare by 2030 and additional 9.9 million nurses and midwives to meet global targets. With aging, demographics shifting globally, and individuals living longer, workers will be a necessity to help with long-term care. Leadership teams can attract and retain staff by encouraging flexibility in clinical workflow and caregiver leave, adopting innovations in the digital care space, providing an ergonomically friendly environment, and establishing new roles. In addition, as the healthcare industry continues evolving with technological advances, healthcare executives need to adopt new, balanced recruitment and retention strategies so personnel can provide patients with the highest quality of care.
7. Cloud technology:
Cloud computing is becoming increasingly available to patients and personnel in the healthcare industry. By leveraging remotely-available data, physicians and patients can easily and rapidly access historical and recent clinical results in a single platform. In addition, as electronic health records become more widely used, cloud technology will become more cost-effective and secure and create new opportunities for big data software.
Cloud technologies offer personnel a scalable way to provide optimized patient care and allow patients to take a proactive approach to their health. However, leaders must be aware of potential barriers to cloud technologies, including data migration costs, cultural shifts, security compliance, and interoperability standards and regulations.
The healthcare cloud computing market is expected to increase dramatically over the next ten years from $ 26.5 billion to $ 66.3 billion.
8. Telehealth systems adoption:
While telehealth has been around for many years, the pandemic put it into the spotlight as patients were increasingly hesitant to do in-person visits and shortages in healthcare personnel increased in every nation.
With limited access to healthcare workers, patients with non-emergency conditions can gain access to their providers quicker and more affordably than traditional visits through remote, live-video appointments using their computers or mobile phones. Additionally, telehealth systems allow patients to directly message their providers and organizations with concerns ranging from prescription changes to insurance questions. It also enables patients quick access to health education.
There are two options for telehealth systems:
· Synchronous telehealth: is a live, remote exchange of patient information through direct, real-time interaction between a physician and a patient.
· Asynchronous telehealth: is a “store-and-forward” approach where the patient shares info through a patient portal, and the provider reviews it later.
Furthermore, telehealth systems allow for the integration of information from multiple patient visits and test results into electronic health records, making it easier to have an entire patient’s history in one app. When linked to data from health wearables, telehealth also enables patients to remain engaged and proactive in their care, which is especially crucial for chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.
As telehealth systems expand, leadership teams need to ensure safe, reliable, and equitable access across different population subgroups, particularly in rural settings and for individuals with disabilities.
A seamless user experience in telehealth systems can be an important differentiator for many healthcare organizations. Due to its convenience and easy access to care, telehealth is here to stay.
9. Data privacy and security:
As cloud computing and telehealth systems become more widespread, data privacy and security of patient data in clinical practice and research become a top priority for the healthcare system and regulators.
Blockchain technologies are a potential method to ensure data protection. Briefly, Blockchain is a peer-to-peer decentralized distributed ledger technology that makes the records of any digital asset transactional but also transparent, authenticated, and unchangeable. Furthermore, by using cryptographic access keys, blockchain can afford patients a means to enable the sharing and monetizing of their patient-level data without compromising privacy. Overall, blockchain can improve the efficiency of workflow processes in many health systems.
10. Focusing on healthcare inequalities with social determinants of health (SDOH):
Social Determinants of Health (SODH) are environmental conditions where individuals are born, live, and worship, which affect a broad range of health, quality-of-life outcomes, and medical-related risks. SDOH contributes to wide health disparities and inequities, impacting the well-being of individuals, especially those with limited access to safe and healthy options.
SDOH include:
· Income and social protection
· Education
· Unemployment and job insecurity
· Working life conditions
· Food insecurity
· Housing, basic amenities, and the environment
· Early childhood development
· Social inclusion and non-discrimination
· Structural conflict
· Access to affordable health services of decent quality
Agencies like WHO, the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and the Centers for Disease Control have launched healthcare programs and initiatives to address the challenges of SDOH. Additionally, with the COVID-19 pandemic, SDOH has become even more apparent in low- and middle-income communities. Through data-driven programs, healthcare leaders are developing novel software technologies or implementing SDOH-focused strategies in their companies to help address the challenges of SDOH among their patients and their personnel.
11. Digital Therapeutics (DTx):
As explained by @Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Digital therapeutics (DTx) deliver medical interventions directly to patients using evidence-based, clinically evaluated software to treat, manage, and prevent a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders.
It leverages technology -from smartphones to wearables to the Internet of Things or even Virtual Reality- to trigger and monitor the behavioral changes that ultimately improve the patient’s health.
Instead of a pill, clinically evaluated software will be the trigger to manage a wide range of diseases, from mental health disorders to metabolic diseases or even smoking cessation. We recommend that you check the core principles established by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance.
Overall, all parties (patients, physicians, and payers) can benefit from using these clinically validated and safe approaches that are gaining traction in the digital health landscape and are now reimbursed.
With so much to offer, it is no surprise that the DTx market is poised for exponential growth. According to the latest analysis from Grand View Research, the DTx market will increase from USD 5 billion in 2022 to USD 32 billion in 2030. That is a CAGR of more than 26% over the period
As digital therapeutic solutions become more accessible and prevalent in the United States, lawmakers are seeking to establish a national coverage policy for the Medicare population. A bill introduced in the US Senate in early 2022, the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act, proposes establishing a dedicated Medicare benefit category for prescription digital therapeutics (PDTx).
Providing digital therapeutics through national health insurance programs such as Medicare would make these treatments accessible to 44% of U.S. citizens who receive state healthcare support. This could also lead private insurance companies to increase their coverage of PDTx, making DTx solutions more widely available to everyone.
Healthcare Future:
Emerging technologies such as AI, cloud computing, robotics, wearables, and telehealth systems are changing the healthcare industry landscape. Healthcare professionals, stakeholders, and regulatory authorities must respond to the HealthTech challenges and ensure each patient’s journey is secure, personalized, easy to navigate, and empowering. Furthermore, mental health, worker needs, and healthcare inequalities should be considered in 2023.