Health Tech Trends: The Evolving Use Of Technology In Healthcare
Health tech trends keep transforming healthcare worldwide, and we love it! In fact, we love it so much that we dedicated this article to exploring new technologies and their influence on the healthcare system and us, the people.
Statistics suggest that the global market for healthcare information systems will likely reach around $600 billion by 2032, while the healthcare services market will probably hit $9.8 trillion by 2027, so there’s a huge potential for change.
Below, we’ll discuss how health technology is changing worldwide, especially in South Korea, where they blend conventional healthcare with modern technology for a better quality of life.
Let’s start by looking at the limitations of conventional health tech.
The Limitations of Conventional Health Tech
Older health tech systems can’t keep up with complex operations and new medical threats. Unfortunately, these outdated systems can no longer meet modern healthcare needs, resulting in inefficiencies and data vulnerabilities.
Luckily, there’s a solution: serious upgrades across various health tech departments. Healthcare organizations and providers should invest in advanced and adaptable technology solutions.
That’s the only way that they can meet the evolving needs of their patients and improve overall care quality.
Here’s a list of some common limitations of traditional technology in healthcare and possible solutions:
- Outdated tech is always harder to use for staff. You can solve this issue by adopting a user-friendly system that’s easy to learn and operate.
- Older tech is also easier to hack. That’s why health organizations should invest in advanced security measures and upgrade systems regularly.
- Old systems process information slower than new ones, resulting in delays. The solution is adopting faster, modern systems that will speed up various processes.
- Outdated tech can’t handle new medical tools and treatments. Health providers should adopt adaptable technology that can support new and evolving medical practices.
- Old systems aren’t as easy to maintain and repair as newer ones.
Emerging Healthcare Technology Trends
Healthcare technology is advancing daily, bringing new tools and innovations that change how we approach medical care.
Common new technologies include smart wearables and advanced prosthetics, which make life easier for many people and improve healthcare quality.
Nowadays, smart wearables like smartwatches do much more than just tracking steps. These devices monitor heart rate and blood pressure. They can even spot irregularities that might indicate health issues.
Simply put, these modern tools help people take better care of their health and catch problems early.
In South Korea, smart wearables aren’t anything new. Companies like Samsung have developed advanced smartwatches that help people keep track of their well-being. Also, healthcare providers include data from these devices in patient care plans.
On the other hand, advanced prosthetics surpassed traditional ones in functionality. The sensors and motors help people move more naturally. Plus, with 3D printing, prosthetics can be customized for each person, ensuring extra comfort and ease of use.
Another excellent advancement is telemedicine. This practice is changing how we see doctors. Instead of going in person, you can have a virtual appointment over a video call. This is especially helpful for people who live far from medical centers or have trouble getting around.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: artificial intelligence (AI). Some view AI as a threat to humanity, but it actually saves lives by looking at X-rays and MRIs and spotting things that humans can’t.
AI tools can also scan patient data for patterns and suggest personalized treatment plans, while AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide health advice and support.
AI is also present in South Korean healthcare. Hospitals such as Asan Medical Center in Seoul analyze imaging scans for early detection of various diseases with the help of AI algorithms.
As you can notice, these new health tech trends have changed the game, especially in South Korea. So, if you’re looking for investment opportunities in South Korea, the healthcare industry is definitely worth exploring.
Chatbots
Remember when visiting a website and a small chatbox pops up? That’s a chatbot, the AI helper ready to assist you instantly.
Now, some chatbots aren’t AI-based only but refined algorithms leading human-like conversations via textual, voice, or option-based input.
The reason why we’re mentioning chatbots is that they’ve taken over the healthcare and medical consulting industries.
They’re accessible 24/7 online or via mobile devices and can provide initial medical diagnostics and health advice based on patient input. You can also notice chatbots on hospital and clinic patient portals.
Chatbots can help patients address their health conditions and concerns, even for acute conditions when human medical assistants aren’t nearby for whatever reason (overloads of call centers due to disasters, non-operation or peak hours, etc.)
That’s why they’re one of the most popular technologies in healthcare.
However, while chatbots can help people identify the next steps and encourage them to contact qualified medical assistants, everyone should be careful when using them. They can sometimes provide the wrong information and result in improper self-diagnosis.
Cybersecurity
Unfortunately, all of the tech precautions and healthcare provider awareness haven’t been very successful in preventing data breaches over the past decade.
Violations reached their peak in 2021/2022, and these data breaches affect thousands of patients across the US. Hopefully, healthcare providers will invest more in data protection going forward.
Here’s a list of cybersecurity practices for healthcare providers:
- Perform annual cybersecurity reviews to ensure compliance with HIPAA security rules and current technology standards.
- Use trustworthy third-party partners for tech maintenance and outsourced projects.
- Train medical staff on data security, cybersecurity risks, best practices, and the consequences of non-compliance.
- Keep devices and medical records under professional tech supervision, with staff logging out of unattended devices and performing regular anti-malware checks.
- Have a separate Wi-Fi network for guests and visitors to prevent unauthorized access to restricted areas.
- Hire a qualified in-house IT manager who will keep the IT infrastructure secure and ensure all hardware is working properly.
Nanomedicine
There’s no denying that nanotech is slowly but surely invading our daily lives. It all started in 2021 when scientists created miniature organic robots called xenobots with a self-replicating ability.
Therefore, we can expect revolutionary technologies in nanomedicine in the near future. In fact, the nanomedicine industry has huge potential and welcomes early investors.
If this is your first time hearing about nanomedicine, it’s about diagnosing or treating living organisms by using microscopically small materials and objects, like nanoelectronic devices, biocompatible nanoparticles, or even nanorobots.
For instance, nanomedicine can hunt cancer cells or viruses. This would involve injecting a group of nanorobots into a person’s blood vessels. In fact, this is being explored in clinical trials for cancer treatment in South Korea as we speak.
Research institutions like the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) develop nanotechnology-based therapies for better cancer treatments.
Hopefully, this mind-blowing technology will effectively treat many cancerous, genetic, and autoimmune diseases at the cellular level, including tumors and arthritis, and may even provide a complete cure.
IoMT
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) encompasses most of the things we already mentioned above. It’s a network of connected medical devices that share data with the sole purpose of improving healthcare.
These devices include smartwatches, home health monitors, and hospital equipment. They help doctors and patients by providing real-time health information.
Examples of connected medical devices include:
- Wearable gadgets like fitness trackers and smartwatches.
- Home health monitors like blood sugar meters and smart inhalers.
- Heart monitors at hospitals, smart implants like pacemakers, and insulin pumps.
- Telemedicine (video calls and online tools so that doctors can treat patients remotely).
- Smart hospitals that use IoMT to track equipment, manage patient flow, and automate tasks.
Some of the benefits of IoMT include:
- Continuous monitoring helps detect issues early, resulting in better treatment and health.
- By reducing hospital visits and making healthcare more efficient, IoMT saves money.
- People can actively manage their health with easy-to-use devices.
- Hospitals run more smoothly with automated systems and real-time data.
Let’s not forget about the following challenges of IoMT:
- Keeping patient information safe from hackers is crucial.
- Different devices need to work well together.
- Devices must meet health standards and laws.
- Stable connections and long battery life for optimal device performance.
In summary, IoMT makes healthcare more connected, efficient, and patient-friendly, and as technology improves, it will bring even more benefits to healthcare systems and people.
VR, AR, and MR
One of the latest health tech trends is the use of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).
These technologies create computer-generated or enhanced images and environments that can improve medical diagnosis and education. Let’s learn more about each.
Virtual reality (VR):
This type of technology creates a completely virtual space that users can interact with using special headsets and controllers.
In healthcare, VR can:
- Simulate surgeries for training doctors without harming real patients.
- Provide therapy for patients with mental health conditions by putting them in calming spaces.
- Help patients with physical rehabilitation by guiding them through exercises in a virtual setting.
Augmented reality (AR):
Augmented reality overlays digital information onto the real world via smartphones or AR glasses.
In healthcare, AR can:
- Help surgeons by showing a patient’s vital signs or imaging scans directly onto their field of view during operations.
- Assist medical students with interactive 3D anatomical models that they can examine from every angle.
- Improve patient education with detailed visual explanations of their conditions and treatments.
Mixed reality (MR):
Mixed reality combines elements of both virtual and augmented reality, enabling the interaction between real and virtual objects.
In healthcare, MR can:
- Enable remote consultations, in which doctors can examine patients and even guide procedures as if they were in the same room.
- Allow multiple specialists to plan surgeries together using a 3D model of a patient’s anatomy.
- Improve diagnostic accuracy by combining real-time data with virtual simulations.
VR, AR, and MR can help healthcare professionals better care for their patients, learn more effectively, and perform procedures with higher precision.
In other words, these technologies can make medicine more efficient, effective, and accessible.
AI’s Role in Healthcare
As we already stated, AI is changing the game in healthcare, especially in diagnosing illnesses. It’s excellent at improving how accurately and quickly we diagnose.
To be more specific, AI can quickly and accurately review a large amount of medical information, such as X-rays and MRIs. It spots things that might be hard for humans to see, helping doctors make better diagnoses quicker, which means patients get better care.
AI is also revolutionizing personalized medicine. By studying each person’s genes and other info, AI helps customize treatments just for them. This makes treatments work better and lowers the chances of bad side effects, making patients healthier overall.
The Future of Surgery with Robotics
The future of surgery is being shaped by robots. In fact, they’re already changing the surgery process, especially the procedures that require small cuts.
Robots have a higher precision and control than humans, and as technology improves, they can handle even more complicated surgeries with better accuracy and safety.
However, every new technology comes with challenges. As you can probably assume, robots aren’t cheap. On the contrary, they’re very expensive, so not all hospitals can get them. Surgeons also need proper training, and there’s a worry about things going wrong during surgeries.
Despite these issues, robotic surgery has a promising future.
The Yonsei University Health System (YUHS) in South Korea has adopted the da Vinci Surgical System for various surgeries. This robotic system is more precise and flexible than traditional methods.
YUHS uses the da Vinci system for prostatectomies, hysterectomies, and heart valve repairs. With this system, surgeons perform difficult surgeries through tiny cuts with clearer vision and precision.
The benefits for patients include less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recoveries.
Global Health Tech Startups: Pioneers and Innovators
Health tech startups change the future of healthcare worldwide. They’re coming up with new ideas to tackle big problems in how healthcare is delivered.
For example, companies like 23andMe and Color have changed how genetic testing is done. Others, like Teladoc, make it easier for people to get healthcare online.
These success stories show how startups can shake up traditional healthcare and improve patient care. But health tech startups have challenges, too. They have to deal with rules and regulations, worry about keeping data safe, and figure out how to stay in business long-term.
By looking at what works for successful startups and finding ways to deal with these challenges, new companies can boost their chances of success and keep pushing healthcare forward.
Health Tech Trends: Closing Thoughts
Health tech trends shape a brighter future for healthcare. Imagine quicker diagnoses, more effective treatments, and personalized medicine becoming the norm.
These innovations, especially in South Korea, offer hope for improving lives worldwide. AI diagnostics quickly analyze medical data, whereas wearable devices monitor health in real time, changing how we manage our well-being.
Understanding these trends helps us stay informed and take charge of our health. Whether you work in healthcare, run a business, or just explore the healthcare industry, knowing about these technologies is important for spotting new opportunities.
