Top 3 Trends in IT that will Change Healthcare in 2021

Top Trends in IT that will Change Healthcare in 2021

Nowadays technology is one of the most vastly improving sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic has played a key role in boosting this process even further and accelerating the adoption of innovative IT methods to the standard medical onesThe past months have been marked with impressive medical achievements like leveraging wearables and potential X-ray scans in early COVID-19 detection, using AI in identifying coronavirus treatmentsa COVID vaccine invented for only 10 months, etc. Scientists predict this is only the start as the IT sector is gaining speed as never before. It is predicted that technology will transform the healthcare industry entirely. Here are the top 3 trends that  will be the big breakthrough in the upcoming year.

The Era of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

The development of machine learning and AI tools will continue to help clinical staff diagnose patients more quickly. AI plays a key role in medicine and has the capability to identify sequences and trends in data that humans cannot.

AI and machine learning can be trained to follow the same patterns doctors do when making a diagnosis. There is one obstacle on the way of AI/ML becoming the ultimate tool for disease diagnosing: it needs a lot of digital examples to learn from. Only a fraction of all data is currently available as electronic health records, even in countries with advanced medical systems. Thus, the full potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare is yet to be advanced in  2021.

Telemedicine & Remote Healthcare will become the new normal

When it comes to patient care, telehealth is invaluable, as it offers contactless medical consultations that take less time than a traditional hospital visit.  Instead of the regular visits to their doctor patients will now be able to schedule online appointments or have a developed robotic healthcare worker arrive at their homes. Proven to be very helpful eHealth tool during the COVID-19 pandemic, this technology is also great when it comes to an urgent need for a healthcare specialist, for example, when someone is having a stroke. Meanwhile, doctors get a chance to work with more patients and telehealth is projected to become even better adopted in 2021. Some experts say that this is only the beginning, and soon the scale of telemedicine will increase.

Big Data will get Bigger

Patient health data, mostly known as Electronic Health Records (EHR) have existed for a while but now is the time to be used strategically for a better patient treatment. Countries around the globe have been working on more comprehensive and accessible electronic health records. In Sweden, for example, all citizens and residents have a personal identification number, known as the Swedish PIN –used for all healthcare documentation. Researchers who have access to these digital health portals can revel in a treasure trove of data. 

A popular device which is not that new but still needs attention is the smartwatch. Having significantly increased users’ health awareness, this could be the perfect tool for healthcare providers when combined with other collection metrics.

As more and more data is collected by healthcare devices, an efficient system for managing this data and securely sharing it with the right stakeholders is also necessary.

In response to the same, many health APIs have emerged that provide resources and data sharing across healthcare institutions. For instance, an API provides a method to check wellness in a given voice sample for risk mitigation.

Big Health Data will form the cornerstone of all modernized treatments across various verticals of healthcare, for improving treatment quality and predicting illnesses ahead of time.

We are truly living in times where IT is becoming increasingly critical for the development of the healthcare industry. You can be part of this revolution too! We are currently building a brand-new team in Sofia for our partner – a world leader in integration solutions for biomedical devices for hospitals and healthcare organizations.

Check out our opportunities here:  https://see.proxiad.com/careers/

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