RWJBarnabas Health

Eddie Hernandez

Emerging medtech trends are transforming the sector while streamlining the processes and facilitating patient and staff management.

Most of the hospitals are skeptic due to significant bureaucracy, and a general fear of change. In addition to these, there are stringent regulatory regimes with legacy complications that affect new technology, infrastructure, or processes. Such facts lead to a reality where medtech startups are expected to be slow when it comes to the adoption of technologies and modern business practices.

There has been a significant change after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The aim to modernized patient data management along with higher standards for the need and care to moderate billing changes how processes, people, and systems worked. However, as the sector seems to settle down again, another round of structural transformations has started to impact the stability of the industry.

Here are the medtech trends that will assist a startup with its strategic planning:

1. Wearables for Preventing & Predicting Health Issues

Despite being well-established in the fitness market, their application as a real medical tool has been limited. However, with the improvement in technology, the trend is set to change as the wearables are set to get lighter, smaller, and more reliable than the previous generations. The wearables are getting better as they can interface easily with smartphones and are capable of collecting detailed information over a long duration. They have particular potential in treating chronic diseases such as atrial fibrillation, asthma, or diabetes. A move to fund wearables using a merit-based incentive system will boost their incorporation. As per a recent report, most healthcare providers consider wearables as an important part of their planned internet of things (IoT) investment.

2. Radiology as the New AI Frontier

Like its immense contribution across several verticals, artificial intelligence (AI) is allowing healthcare providers to extract meaning from the huge volumes of data that they routinely accumulate while delivering patient care. It can also be used to deliver routine tasks such as laboratory test analysis and manage electronic health records. However, it’s radiology where technology’s most immense advantages will be leveraged.

3. Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) collects patient health statistics beyond clinical settings, and alerts clinicians in case help is needed. RPM systems are getting more attractive as they can circumvent the costs of patient readmission and avoid the costs incurred by the patients as they struggle to keep appointments. Products are also getting more sophisticated that can deal with a broader range of conditions that are expensive to treat, such as heart failure.