Health care technology trends

Spatial computing is transforming health care by integrating augmented reality, virtual reality, and digital twins to create immersive and efficient patient-centric experiences. This trend enhances medical education, behavioral health, and complex surgeries, improving outcomes and engagement. Health plans can benefit from interactive member experiences, reducing in-person consultations and enhancing care management. The merging of physical and digital worlds also allows clinicians to engage with digital content naturally, improving precision in treatments and offering new frontiers in personalized care. By harnessing spatial computing in key business areas, health plans and providers can become agile, disruptive forces in their industries.

Trend in action

Envision a virtual hospital—a fully interactive space where patients can consult with doctors via avatars, explore treatment options, and learn about their conditions through immersive simulations.

For instance, a virtual neurology clinic could allow patients to understand the effects of neurological disorders through simulated experiences, enhancing their comprehension and engagement with treatment plans. Additionally, digital twins of physical hospitals could be used for operational purposes, such as emergency response drills or optimizing the layout to improve patient flow and safety.

Relevance: 4.5 out of 5
Readiness: 3.5 out of 5

GenAI is dramatically transforming health care by automating complex processes and offering predictive insights to reduce costs and enhance care. It can support clinicians with advanced diagnostic tools and personalized treatments while aiding health plans in risk assessment and fraud detection. Despite concerns about privacy, bias, and the erosion of human elements in care, GenAI addresses inefficiencies and inequities in the system, promoting better outcomes and operational efficiency. Implementing GenAI across clinical and commercial operations can help create differentiation in the market and elevate the patient experience overall.

Trend in action

GenAI enhances diagnostic accuracy by analyzing extensive patient data in electronic health records (EHRs). For instance, it can identify early signs of sepsis, providing real-time alerts to physicians. This integration not only improves the speed and accuracy of diagnoses but also underscores the importance of clinician oversight in final decision-making and patient management.

Relevance: 4.5 out of 5
Readiness: 3.5 out of 5

Health care is shifting from brute-force computing to smarter, adaptive systems by enhancing existing tech infrastructure with efficient algorithms, specialized GPUs, and AI integration. This allows better data processing for claims, customer service, and fraud detection while managing costs effectively. Exploring quantum computing and balancing high costs with practical needs is also crucial. The goal is to enhance patient care and streamline operations, addressing the rising demand for services and maintaining financial sustainability, without expanding raw computing power. Adopting these refined approaches can help boost operational efficiencies and bolster an organization’s competitive position.

Trend in action

A prime example of this trend is the Moffitt Cancer Center’s collaboration with NVIDIA, Oracle, and Deloitte to revolutionize cancer care through AI. By using AI to improve clinical documentation and billing accuracy, the initiative reduces costs and administrative time, allowing clinicians to focus more on patient care.

Relevance: 3.0 out of 5
Readiness: 2.5 out of 5

Focusing on developer experience (DevEx) is important for better patient outcomes and operational excellence, ensuring software developer teams face fewer obstacles and can innovate effectively. The transition from DevOps to DevEx emphasizes improving software development in health care by creating more tailored solutions. This shift enhances operational efficiency, streamlines development for customer-facing platforms and internal tools, and supports attracting top tech talent and creating a culture where innovation thrives. By elevating DevEx, organizations can optimize impactful digital solutions that help generate value across product, commercial, and operational domains.

Trend in action

A US health care company, collaborating with Deloitte, executed a digital transformation to enhance digital experiences by automating and integrating release processes. This improved developer productivity, increased lower environment availability, and reduced delivery lead times by 40%, ensuring higher reliability. The initiative is expected to save $4 million to $6 million over three years through tools consolidation, demonstrating both operational and financial benefits.

Relevance: 4.0 out of 5
Readiness: 3.5 out of 5

In today’s digital era, AI-generated fake media poses significant challenges, especially in health care, by distorting information and compromising data integrity. Health providers must consider defending against misinformation to maintain patient trust and care integrity. This issue highlights the importance of robust cyber defenses and sophisticated detection methods. Health plans and providers must secure claims and clinical data, ensuring ethical and innovative AI use while combating evolving threats. Staying ahead of these threats could help foster trust, strengthen brand reputation, and drive a competitive advantage.

Trend in action

To help combat the spreading of synthetic media in health care, one potential useful method is to use AI-powered systems that can check the validity of medical images and patient records. By using AI tools that can examine patterns and spot changes, health care institutions can avoid the tampering of important data, making sure that clinical choices are based on reliable and unaltered information. This method can help enhance the confidence in digital systems and improve the overall security position of the organization.

Relevance: 4.0 out of 5
Readiness: 4.0 out of 5

The shift from managing technical debt to achieving technical wellness is crucial for health care organizations. This transition helps them keep pace with technological advancements while overcoming legacy system limitations.

Technical debt can hinder operations and innovation, affecting patient outcomes and market position. A “core workout” involves assessing and enhancing IT infrastructure to boost performance and reduce risks. Prioritizing technical wellness ensures technologies support and improve organizational missions, positioning health systems and plans to thrive in a digital health care environment.

Trend in action

One notable example of this move to technical wellness is demonstrated by a major health care provider that embarked on a significant effort to revamp its EHR system. By moving to a cloud-based EHR platform, the organization was able to lower downtime, increase data security, and expand access to data for clinicians. This modernization resulted in additional time for patient care and optimized workflows. It also helped solve long-standing technical debt and prepared the provider to seamlessly incorporate new technologies down the line.

Relevance: 4.5 out of 5
Readiness: 4.5 out of 5