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With a new year comes new trends in digital healthcare. Every practitioner or innovator in this booming industry must keep an eye out for these trends as they inform the best products and policies of the time. From clinical research to advancements in telehealth, these features are rapidly becoming the norm. To give clients a competitive healthcare experience, consider how the following industry trends might impact you.

Digital Health Tools in Clinical Research

First and foremost, the pandemic era has seen a mobilization in clinical research. As the world united to combat COVID-19, incredible acts of science have been achieved all because of the hard and heavily scrutinized work of clinical research. But infamously, this research is expensive, intensive, and time-consuming. The public health crisis has caused researchers to further invest in digital health tools that can assist in clinical research while maintaining the integrity of the process.

Ethics are essential in clinical research. Without an ethical and transparent process, researchers cannot guarantee the accuracy of their findings. Meanwhile, patients would be vulnerable to medical accidents or data theft. Fortunately, digital tools will help to streamline the efficiency and integrity of clinical studies in 2022 and beyond.

Data collection is vital to medical research, and advancements in digital health devices lend all kinds of benefits to this process. Wearables allow physicians to track accurate patient data from home, while artificial intelligence (AI) can do everything from promoting trial adherence among patients to encrypting medical data records. Researchers are increasingly applying these tools in their work as means of improving the scale and accuracy of clinical investigations, meaning better care for all of us.

Mobile and Wearable Devices

Mobile and wearable devices are on the frontlines of digital health in 2022. These devices have created a revolution in public health, one that draws on the fact that more than 70% of doctor visits can be completed virtually. With such a huge opportunity for patient convenience as well as cost reduction, practitioners are pivoting towards telehealth solutions empowered by mobile and wearable devices.

Already, these smart tools are providing new levels of convenience and opportunity across the medical field. Here are just some of their many functions:

• Tracking patient health information
• Checking symptoms
• Providing medication reminders
• Streamlining communication between patients and care staff
• Enabling patient education solutions

As more patients realize the benefits of these features, they’ll expect them in the course of their care. 2022 is the perfect time for implementing compatibility with telehealth and remote monitoring services through mobile and wearable devices.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the most groundbreaking advancements in digital healthcare has been the integration of AI in all kinds of diagnostic and data systems. AI, as the computational ability to analyze complex data, provides insights to care, practitioners, they wouldn’t otherwise be able to garner. From here, they are improving the kinds of services that can be offered virtually. Meanwhile, more and more data-driven tools and systems are hitting the healthcare market.

From a diagnostic standpoint, AI is revolutionary. That’s because, through data modeling and computer imaging, illnesses can be diagnosed with increasingly greater precision than what is possible through traditional processes. From cancer to mental health risk factors, AI-powered digital innovations are uncovering better actionable information for doctors and patients to work with.

These insights will power digital healthcare innovation, which will power more medical breakthroughs. This cycle of benefits means AI will be an aspect of digital health long after 2022.

Sustainability

Fortunately, the transparency and knowledge available through data-driven technologies also applies when it comes to making the healthcare industry a more sustainable one. Businesses in all kinds of industries often fall prey to greenwashing — making a false claim about the sustainability of a product. But with digital health tools, practitioners are ensuring a cleaner care environment.

This starts with the ability of digital tools to collect data about their own energy utilization and waste. Then, solutions can be integrated that support better metrics as far as plastic waste, carbon emissions, and other sustainability challenges are concerned. Since sustainability is such an important push of the modern era, it should not be neglected within digital care practices.

With these trends in mind, any practitioner within or adjacent to the healthcare industry can cultivate greater value and efficiency from their own processes. Tech and big data create a huge advantage for patients receiving digital care. Maximize the application of these tools by paying attention to the trends of the time.