Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives".
It is difficult to come up with the exact definition of Health Tech as there are so many factors that contribute to the usage of technology within health space.
The Health Tech industry is growing very fast. According to Allied Market Search, the US Healthcare Tech Market (HCIT) market generated $61.01 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach $149.17 Billion by 2025 at 11.7% CAGR.
Factors that are contributing to this phenomenal growth of Health IT Market:
• Proactive measures taken by healthcare organizations to improve patient care.
• Safety measures.
• Government initiatives to improve healthcare infrastructure overall.
Healthcare Technology Provide Solutions segment is anticipated to register CAGR of 14.5% from 2019-2025. The Clinical Solutions segment is projected to grow at 17.5%, owing to supportive government policies and increased investments to improve the adoption of HCIT clinical solutions and latest trends of innovation.
The industry has been valued at US $7.2 trillion in the US alone.
The HITECH Act was created to motivate the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) and supporting technology in the United States. President Obama signed HITECH into law on February 17, 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), an economic stimulus bill.
The HITECH Act was created to motivate the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) and supporting technology in the United States.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems will continue to hold a major share in the Healthtech industry. Artificial Intelligence will make its footprints in Health Tech space but there are some adoption gaps. Artificial Intelligence holds its important position in building a better healthcare future. According to a recent survey of 500 U.S healthcare leaders on their attitudes and usage of the technologies, 94% responded that their organizations continue to invest in and make progress in implementing Artificial Intelligence.
The annual OptumIQ Annual Survey on Artificial Intelligence in Health Care indicates an estimated investment of $32.4 million per organization over the next five years.
Big Tech giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown a keen interest in Health Tech space and are going to bring a big shift.
Google has 186 patents and is focusing on Artificial Intelligence and research development. Google has invested heavily in research and established a unit named Verily Life Sciences to develop new tools for collecting and analyzing health data. They launched a device called Verily Study Watch that has sensors to collect the data to use it for detailed analysis of the progression of diseases and prevention.
Microsoft has filed 73 patents to expand its Artificial Intelligence capabilities and develop monitoring devices for chronic diseases. Microsoft is ramping up its business in the healthcare industry using Artificial Intelligence to create products with speech recognition where a virtual assistant takes notes during physician and patient conversation and sends a summary to the patient’s EHR.
Apple filed 54 patents for turning its iPhone into a medical device which will have the ability to monitor biometric data such as blood pressure and body fat levels and to develop algorithms to predict abnormal heart rates. Apple has been working with Aetna since 2016 through personalized exercise and health tips to promote healthy behavior by providing incentives.
Artificial Intelligence is playing a vital role in health care data. When health care data uses Artificial Intelligence, it provides new and improved analytics. Artificial Intelligence analytics are of big use in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of many diseases.
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the healthcare industry is considerable and it is a game-changer for the entire industry in many shapes and forms. Artificial Intelligence is bringing a major shift in the health care industry.
Because of this emerging Artificial Intelligence role in the health care industry, mega investments are being observed and the numbers are staggering high. According to a study, the investment will reach $6.6 billion by 2021. Accenture’s reports are even more astonishing. According to their analysis, Artificial Intelligence applications can create annual savings of $150 billion by 2026 for US healthcare.
Artificial Intelligence is supreme and beneficial and its significance has been realized by the Tech companies. Artificial Intelligence can prevent medical errors which cause patients death. Nearly 440,000 Americans die each year due to medical errors which can be easily prevented by Artificial Intelligence. In the healthcare industry, nearly 86% of the mistakes are preventable. In the next 5 years, Artificial Intelligence health market will grow by more than 10 percent.
There are hindrances in the market such as guidelines, standard regulations, and the reluctance of healthcare professionals to trust and use Artificial Intelligence technology because Artificial Intelligence technology has not been validated by the market yet. But now it depends on the healthcare professionals to take the risk as the healthcare market is slowly realizing the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence which outweighs the risks. Artificial Intelligence uses image-based algorithms to develop a new generation of radiology tools for diseases like tumours. This service has partnered with the “selfie” function where patients can take pictures of their faces from which Ophthalmologists, Dermatologists, and Development Disease Doctors will be able to diagnose them.
Predictive Patient Data Analysis is another role that Artificial Intelligence is playing by using the health record data to identify infection patterns and highlight the risks. Along with this, Artificial Intelligence can predict how cancer might change in the human body and create therapies and treatments specific to the patient’s gene. The use of Artificial Intelligence algorithms enables the healthcare industry to gather valuable information and change the future.
Conclusion
Health Tech Industry is ever-growing, and Artificial Intelligence is going to take a major chunk of investments and a bigger pie of the cake. Artificial Intelligence comes with its huge advantages which will help the health care industry in many aspects. It has the ability to change the dynamics of the healthcare industry.
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