2019 in Perspective: Healthcare Projections for the Year (Part II)

In our previous article, we highlighted the imminent changes and trends that will pick up this year or continue from where they left off last year. In part 1; we projected how global healthcare delivery would shift from volume to value-based care, how artificial intelligence will have widespread applications in health systems and finally the direct involvement of tech companies in the delivery of care. The following paragraphs elucidate more changes and trends that we’re bound to see this year.

Digital Health Surge.

From the past few years, we’ve witnessed exponential growth in the pace and scale of digitization in healthcare and its affiliate innovations. The now available digital products enable health systems to make swift and smooth transitions into new models that are patient-centered resulting in significant improvements in patient care access and affordability. From robotics, AI, to internet of medical things (IoMT), there have been (and we’ll continue to be) numerous ways in which technology has disrupted health care with remarkable results. Diagnosis and treatment have improved with the latest systems providing better quality, efficiency, and accuracy.

According to Forbes, digital health tech catering to out of hospital needs is expected to grow by 30 percent and cross the $25 billion mark. This year the application of digital health will continue to go far beyond the traditional system and empower individuals to be able to manage their health. Adoption of digital health solutions like mHealth platforms, telehealth applications, and remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices will be prompted by the ever-rising cost for treating chronic conditions as well as the general aging population in the developed world. As such, there will be an expansion of effective reimbursement strategies targeting clinically relevant digital health applications. Care delivery will subsequently transcend beyond face-to-face practitioners to incorporate other aspects such as prescription management, behavioral health, and digital therapeutics.

Some challenges will include interoperability and security risks involving connected devices, incongruent systems, and procedures (usually due to heterogeneity or absent standards), and trial models that require scale to facilitate system-wide implementation. Fortunately, these challenges can be addressed by continuously investing in digitization since it leads to effective use of health data in research and supporting personalized healthcare. It’s also imperative to note that digital innovation does not mean replacing health workers. On the contrary, well done digital innovation amplifies the provider’s capabilities and augments their skills to offer valuable and patient-centric care.

Blockchain Effect

We would be remiss not to mention blockchain, but its promise seems to be further off than its counterpart buzzword of the times AI. Upcoming blockchain 3.0 solutions might mitigate the challenges involved in its applications in healthcare. It is quite apparent like in the case of cloud-based technology, internet technologies and AI that health-tech is a chronic tech laggard. This reticence is likely due to the historic nature of the methods of adoption and validation of health-specific tech, so we would have to see some mature, resilient, scalable blockchain applications outside of healthcare before we see it in healthcare. Perhaps it’s worth mentioning The Synaptic Health Alliance, which is a prime example of data management using blockchain.

Hopefully, 2019 will be the year when blockchain will start implementation and testing in the real world setting. Given the need to offer the best care possible while saving costs, it’s fair to project a shift by healthcare-focused blockchain applications from the trial stages to the adoption/implementation stage.

Personal Health Data Stores

It’s a long-awaited concept that patients across the globe have been hoping for over the years: empowerment to manage their health and clinical data. This year, personal health data will be accessible to patients (as consumers) giving them control of their health records. As per the GDPR (GDPR — by the way is the canary in the coal-mine for modern data privacy and security regulations more countries are bound to follow) guidelines, data controllers are required to hand over data to patients upon request in usable electronic formats.

Last year’s seemingly unending series of data scandals and breaches (e.g., Cambridge Analytica and Facebook) played a significant part in transforming how people (patients) and governments perceive data privacy. In many ways, GDPR pioneered new global principles for data security and privacy consequently increasing the consumer (patient) awareness of the significance of safeguarding their data. This survey study conducted last June on over 400 senior executives globally indicated that GDPR would inspire other countries to implement new regulations regarding data privacy. Granted, we’re yet to see significant fines imposed on companies that breach these rules and regulations, but there’s all likelihood that last year was an implementation stage while this year will signal enforcement.

Since GDPR came about, countries like Argentina, Australia, and Brazil have gone on to execute similar regulations, and it’s no doubt that other nations will follow suit this year. Some countries will have no significant issues updating their domestic legislation, but things might be a bit different for emerging countries. Emerging nations will have to battle the pressure to acclimatize to evolving global privacy norms as well as the economic necessity to promote domestic innovation. In any case, a national privacy law enforces the same regulations on all business organizations in a country regardless of whether they operate just domestically. Nevertheless, developing economies like India and Uruguay have devised comprehensive regulatory frameworks that align with the EU’s regulations at the same time being mindful of their own economic and cultural growth.

Some tech companies have made progress worth noting regarding personal health data as seen with the Apple’s HealthKit product. Notably, Germany (known for their adherence to privacy) has made steady progress with insurers and other healthcare industry partners in giving patients control of their records. Other countries in Europe that have facilitated online health records access are Estonia and Denmark. It’s only a matter of time for all nations especially in emerging markets (specifically Asia and Africa) to follow suit.

The Issue of Interoperability

2019 will see health institutions and health systems manufacturers collaborate in leading breakthroughs across health systems and application/platform interoperability. Companies that offer EHR products and services and banding together around the principles of exchanging data with the aim of providing solutions that focus on the patients and not their paperwork.

Achieving this will be crucial for addressing epidemics and medical errors while reducing communication overhead that may have been hampered by difficulties in exchanging patient and clinical data. There’s also the need to enhance health institutions resiliency in offering the best care especially during the now seemingly frequent natural calamities that may warrant quick and efficient access to patient data.