Healthcare Trends: New healthcare technologies and more to look forward to in 2022
There have been swift and radical changes in the healthcare industry, which has become more evident today than ever. From stunningly sophisticated and incredibly beneficial healthcare technologies to innovative and cutting edge healthcare trends – there has been a sudden rise in it all. Today, healthcare moves beyond tradition to ensure it is faster, more readily available, and more reliable for healthcare workers and patients. Here are some of these healthcare trends and technologies to look out for in 2022.
Healthcare Technologies
Digital Therapeutics (DTx)
Healthcare providers are now moving to digital therapeutics (evidence-based therapeutic interventions driven by high-quality software) to deliver patients seamless and quick medical care. DTx uses clinically evaluated software not only to treat and manage a wide range of diseases but also to prevent them. Digital data are continuously generated and tracked, making it easier to ensure better treatment outcomes. As a result, physicians can select the right solution for individual patient problems.
One example of this healthcare technology is devices like blood glucose meters, insulin pumps, and wearable gadgets to prevent, manage, or treat diabetes and obesity. The data collected by these devices are sent to a unified system, making it easier for physicians to manage and/or treat these conditions. DTx products target other diseases, including substance use disorder, Type II diabetes, major depressive disorder, and an autism spectrum disorder.
Digital Prescription
Digital prescriptions are one of the newer disruptive healthcare technologies transforming the healthcare industry. Digital prescriptions help maintain digital versions of patient health records, improve patient outcomes, and reduce human error in interpreting wrong medicines. There is expected to be a steep surge in digital prescriptions to minimize paperwork and increase the longevity in the storage of these prescriptions.
Telemedicine
With the Covid-19 pandemic still looming over us, we haven’t been able to get back to when it was relatively safe for patients to walk into a hospital, emergency room, or clinic. As a result, remote appointments and telemedicine via a portal or app have taken over the space of one-on-one patient care.
Telemedicine has proven to be much safer and is also an easier way for patients to access their physicians. As well as being safer and more accessible, data collected from telemedicine helps research teams analyze the level of care being provided to patients.
Online CME
Continuing medical education is mandatory for healthcare workers. But with a massive shortage of healthcare workers across the industry, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for medical professionals to take time off to earn their CME credits.
Healthcare professionals will turn to online CME to increase their skills, knowledge, professional performance and earn their CME credits.
Streaming videos, live conferences, and webinars, watching case reviews, and interacting with expert trainers online will be preferred to offline classes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) in Medicine
AI has proved to be applicable across industries at handling complex tasks incredibly efficiently, and it’s no different in the healthcare sector. As AI continues to improve, it will be used for many tasks. These tasks include medical record review, answering the phone, therapeutic drug, device design, making clinical diagnoses and individual treatment plans, reading radiology images, trending population health, and analytics.
Wellbeing healthcare trends
Lifestyle changes and wellness trends continue to attract people of all ages. There was a time when people considered lifestyle and wellness changes only when they were struck by comorbidities like a heart condition or diabetes. Today, young and old, healthy and unhealthy, men and women strive to lead healthier lives.
Gut health
Gut health is of particular interest and a wellness trend in 2022, given the steep increase in digestive health diagnoses. Prebiotics and probiotics continue to be of specific interest as preventive measures.
Researchers will be interested in gut health as Crohn’s disease, food intolerances, gluten/dairy intolerances, and irritable bowel syndrome rise.
Alternative Medicine
People are more aware of the side effects of mainstream therapies and medication and would instead try unorthodox alternative remedies. Alternative Medicine has been of particular interest for over a decade but will become an emerging healthcare trend in the wellness sector. More than 50% of adults in the United States claim to use some form of alternative medicine. Some of these alternative remedies are herbalism, crystal healing, and naturopathy.
There will be an explosion of new healthcare technologies and wellness and healthcare trends in 2022. There is, no doubt, much to look forward to. These new technologies and trends will ensure improved treatment, care management, and patient outcomes – a boon for healthcare professionals and patients alike.
American Medical Seminars has been a leading provider of Commercial CME since 1986. The organization creates high-quality CME for busy physicians and other healthcare professionals who can’t take the time out to earn their CME credits offline. The courses created are clinically-relevant and designed to fit individual personal needs.
