Healthcare Tech Outlook – 7 Industry Trends in 2022

The world of healthcare has changed considerably in recent years. Healthcare tech trends in 2022 are all over the place, but many have resulted from changes made due to COVID-19.

1. Telemedicine Becomes More Commonplace

With many people unable to leave their homes or unwilling to subject themselves to the dangers of a waiting room, access to telemedicine advanced rapidly. While it was necessary for the pandemic, it won’t be going away any time soon. Never before has healthcare been so accessible for anyone who needs it. As a result, you can expect to see more advances in telemedicine, keeping healthcare tech at the forefront of medicine.

Some experts predict that many areas of healthcare will permanently turn to a primarily virtual option. These include urgent care, where professionals can carry out the assessment virtually, and mental health, which works well when conducted online.

2. Improvements to Nurses’ Wellbeing via Healthcare Tech

It’s no secret that healthcare professionals have had it rough since the pandemic began, with serious issues occurring in the world of nursing. For many, stress and burnout were already apparent before the pandemic hit, and then everything became immensely more stressful. All of this strain has caused a drastic drop in the number of working nurses. These healthcare professionals are frequently underappreciated and underpaid for the type of work they do, so it’s not surprising. However, things have to change.

In 2022, it’s expected that healthcare workers, especially nurses, will see improvements in their wellbeing thanks to advancements in healthcare tech. Creating a work environment where people feel safe and secure is essential to keep nurses around.

3. Healthcare Tech Moves to the Cloud

We already use the cloud for many daily functions. Still, the healthcare cloud market is expected to increase from $28.1 billion (2020) to $64.7 billion by 2025. It offers a significant way to save on expenditures in healthcare and allows for high-power analytics to ensure patients get the care they deserve. In addition, cloud storage for electronic medical records (EMRs) will help more patients receive the correct diagnosis; they’ll be able to get second, third, or even fourth opinions from healthcare practices without repeating the scans several times.

Patients can also visit multiple specialists for treatment if medical imaging and healthcare information are available in digitized form. The data will be in the cloud, so a specialist can see at a glance what other healthcare practitioners have done before them.

4. Predictive Analytics Will Be More Important Than Ever

In the coming year, there will be more access to another healthcare tech trend: predictive analytics. This is when artificial intelligence (AI) systems comb through medical information and create predictive models about patients and their risk for health conditions. Before any symptoms arise, AI can forecast who is likely to develop specific health issues and how they will respond to treatments or medical devices. These predictions allow the doctor and patient to begin preventative medicine.

When people prevent disease by changing their lifestyle, they put less pressure on the healthcare system and their time or workplace needs. Lifestyle changes can reduce costs in all areas, but they also preserve a quality of life that can be much different if someone becomes ill.

5. Virtual Education for Healthcare Providers

Online learning has been gradually improving over the years, but now it’s coming into its own. Training healthcare providers over the internet have become quite common, and with virtual simulation and online learning, practicing nurses and doctors can also improve their careers and gain new skills.

The pandemic led to fewer choices for studying in a physical location and much better online options. These online options eliminate the usual issues with learning, such as a lack of physical places to study. It’s also easier to make time for online classes because there is no commute required.

6. Wearable Healthcare Tech for Remote Monitoring

Wearable healthcare tech is already a thing and has been for some time. These days, innovative new options allow you to test everything from blood sugar to blood pressure anywhere. Some devices are so small that patients can wear them on a wrist or even as a patch. However, patients would often have to carry around a device connected to their body or stay in the hospital to use it. Wearability allows doctors to check on their patient’s vitals remotely and determine whether or not they need to have more medication.

There’s something for most health issues, from apps that everyone can use to access information on their vitals to temporary tattoos that will track compounds in sweat. This also means more patients can relax at home where they’re comfortable, and the doctor can still keep an eye on them.

7. Artificial Intelligence Will Be More Useful

AI has recently been gaining popularity for its use in health maintenance. This healthcare tech trend can only continue in 2022 and should increase its usefulness for patients and healthcare workers alike. AI will become helpful in several areas, including virtual nursing assistants to help patients get the personalized health experience they would like.

Another AI healthcare use includes thermometers that provide diagnosis and treatment options based on machine learning. Thermometers require AI to manage diagnosis based on previous readings and patients. It’s estimated that the AI used in healthcare could save the US healthcare economy up to $150 billion by 2026.

Many advances are going on in healthcare tech, and you should see new options coming up frequently. In 2022, though, we can expect the previously mentioned trends to amp up over time.