How innovations transform the healthcare industry

New technologies, the growing demand for quality medical services, and the influence of regulations are the main trends in the traditional global healthcare market in the coming years, according to the Deloitte 2019 Global Healthcare Outlook study. At the same time, the aging population and the growing chronic diseases require additional funding, the estimated rate of growth worldwide being 5% per year until 2022.

The rising costs which health insurance systems and public budgets have to cover may be reduced thanks to these technological breakthroughs, with more and more companies focusing on providing cheaper, more efficient and innovative equipment and products in the recent years.

For these reasons, there is a clear need to invest in both innovation and digitalisation, which facilitate better use of data in both research and personalized healthcare research. Deloitte experts have analyzed global innovations in this industry in various reports, trying to find out which ones are more likely to contribute to improving services, lowering costs, and transforming healthcare in the next 10 years.

The findings highlight a number of key trends with potential for industry transformation, such as genetic sequencing methods. Especially applications that identify populations at risk of disease or appropriate therapies for patients who are likely to respond to them.

3D technology can help create custom products with low costs, which can be tailored to meet the individual needs of patients.

Another trend is immunotherapy, which refers to treatments that have the potential to extend the life expectancy of cancer patients without bearing the negative side effects and costs of traditional chemotherapy.

Artificial intelligence can also be used in telemedicine, being more cost-effective.

Virtual reality is another trend that is indicated by the analysis. By creating an artificial environment, you can accelerate behaviour changes for some patients.

The use of social media to improve the patient experience refers to the use of data extracted from social media and online communities, which gives healthcare organizations the opportunity to follow the consumer experience and the evolution of the population’s health in real time.

Monitoring device technologies also allow patients and medcare professionals to easily monitor the health of patience.

Last but not least, telemedicine aims to reduce trips to the doctor, and can prevent disease complications and visits to emergency room.

Investments in such technological changes are made based on strategic decisions, the paradigm shift can only take place by accepting the novelty. To this end, leaders must create a culture of business model transformation, aiming their focus towards smart capital investment, especially new technologies – such as artificial intelligence, predictive analytics or automation. Another positive change factor for the future is easier access to patient information, thanks to the opportunities created by data analysis – but without neglecting the constraints of privacy and personal data, ethical and compliance obligations.

Taking into consideration that players in the health sector operate in one of the most regulated ecosystems, the collaboration and integration of the involved parties will play a key role in the future. Organizations that understand these trends and carefully consider how patients would like to use digital healthcare devices, telemedicine, online resources, or other technologies – will likely be better placed in the new context. Locally, even if we are not at the forefront of these transformations and we’re not experimenting large-scale innovation – given the fact that the appetite for investment in research and development is not stimulated by clear policies, the Romanian health sector has recently begun to follow global trends.

Opinion published in the Top 1.000 Largest Companies in Romania, by Vlad Boeriu, Partner Indirect Taxes, Deloitte Romania.

Sources: Deloitte.com article, Shutterstock.com