What will Healthcare Software Development Look Like in 2021 and Further in the Future?

COVID-19. is a catalyst to a digital transformation of the health industry. – Animesh Gandhi

The global pandemic has shifted our focus to the healthcare system. Many hospitals operate at total capacity and face many barriers like patient overload supply shortages, patient overflow, and changing staff and clinical services needs.

Because of this, most clinical tests and studies have been delayed or removed. However, significant institutions are doing all they can to lower costs. 

But that’s not it! We need to create the best way to make healthcare software development play in this picture and need to expect from it even the COVID-19 situation.

Here are the top Healthcare Software Trends of 2020

Telemedicine

With the COVID-19 epidemic that is threatening our lives and a looming epidemic, this wait can increase for cases that are not urgent. Thus, many hospitals began adding telehealth to their daily routines. They can:

• Improve access to healthcare and extend care to more patients, sometimes even going beyond primary treatment
• Can reduce the number of patients who fail to appear
• Reduce the requirement for non-urgent visits to clinics and ERs during the time of pandemics
• Improve healthcare quality
• Improve clinical workflows and boost efficiency.

Market Response

The size of the global telemedicine market was $41.4B in the year 2019 and was projected to increase to an annual CAGR of 15.1 percent during the forecast time (2020-2027).

However, the global pandemic will give telemedicine a more considerable boost because it will reduce the variation in diagnosis and improve access to healthcare more efficiently.

Monitoring Remotely and Telemetry

Many of the US hospitals have reported that they started discussions with companies that produce monitors following FDA allowed remote-monitoring devices in the pandemic (and possibly later on). The pandemic in the world has forced the growth of this area to:

• Improve the speed and quality of healthcare, mainly when first visits are made at doctors in the ER and family physicians, and assist paramedics in making quicker decisions.
• Give prompt help to patients suffering from COVID-19, who had been admitted to hospitals
• Give patients suffering from a non-related diagnosis the option of staying at home and being closely monitored to minimize the risk of exposure.

Market Response

In 2018, the world’s healthcare telemetry market was $19.5B and was projected to exceed $27 billion in 2025. Sensors hold the most significant shares of wireless monitoring, cardiac monitoring, and the homecare setting sector.

Telemetry allows patients who had previously needed regular medical supervision to stay at home and receive prompt medical care.

IoT and IoMT (Internet of Medical Things)

The rising demand for telemedicine and health, together with the IoT technology, has created a new business known as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). It brings together the use of a variety of wearable devices, such as ECG or EKG monitors, that cover many of the most commonly used medical tests, like blood glucose levels, skin temperature, and measurements of blood pressure.

Market Response

We expect the global IoT market for healthcare to grow to $534.3B in 2025, growing at a rate of 19.9 percent over the forecast time. The increase in investment for developing IoT solutions within the healthcare industry is one of the main reasons propelling the industry.

AR, VR, and MR

Virtual, as well as Augmented Reality, is being used to transform healthcare in real-time. The latest VR and AR solutions aid institutions of higher education and training and enhance health training and practice. They also assist clinics in offering comprehensive treatment for patients and medical rehabilitation, diagnosis, and consultation.

Market Response

As per an upcoming report, the market for healthcare-related AR/VR is projected to reach $7.05B by 2026. The increasing need for advanced diagnostic techniques and surgeries preparation and management of patient care and educational uses caused the growth.

The difference in the Application Areas in AR and VR

We use primarily AR in the fields of surgery recovery, training, and medical training. The technology uses sensors or simulators and transparent displays to enhance the communication between surgeon and patient or student and teacher to boost the effectiveness of the procedures.

VR used in various other fields, such as simulation and diagnostics, rehabilitation, exposure therapy, and pain disorientation. For instance, many medical schools and hospitals are using this technology across the globe by expanding their teaching methodologies and improving the learning process.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The increasing need to reduce healthcare costs and errors made by healthcare professionals and the growing use of precision medicine and technological advancements are driving the growth of AI-based solutions for healthcare. 

Market Response

As a result, the global AI market for healthcare has reached $2.5B as of 2017 and this expected to surpass the $36.15B threshold by 2025.

Important Note

Gartner (a research company) predicts that we’ll witness a significant usage of AI, machine learning, and NLP for patient healthcare delivery and legislative processes. The areas that are likely to benefit include:

• Robot-assisted surgery;
• Virtual nursing assistant;
• Help with administrative workflows, particularly in the orchestration of ecosystems;
• Fraud detection;
• Dosage error reduction;
• The participant in a clinical trial identification number;
• Preliminary diagnosis, etc.

Chatbots

Many industries have already adopted and profited from chatbots. But healthcare is just getting to know the potential value that chatbots can bring to healthcare. Examples of use cases are:

• Symptoms check
• Medical and drug information
• Appointment scheduling & monitoring

If, for instance, doctors are not present, patients can inquire via chatbots and receive a precise answer. In addition, chatbots often have machine learning algorithms that allow them to grow and change constantly.

Market Response

The market for chatbots in the world was $116.9M as of 2017, and they projected it to grow to $520M by 2026 with a CAGR of 20%. This is generating lots of demand in North American, European, and Asia-Pacific regions.

Summing-Up

No doubt the healthcare software industry is growing. The rapid increase is proof that it is helpful for us and especially patients-doctors worldwide. But, unfortunately, it is also not easy to make and market it. 

If you need to develop a healthcare app, hire a healthcare software development company with an excellent reputation. Then, you google it by reading reviews or chatting with them through mail or in-person.