Our 2022 predictions
Hospitals are trying AI.
If you are interested in leading edge technology, AI, AR, and VR, this might be the year for you. Over the last three years, Healthcare technology companies globally have had a boost in investment, allowing research to move into the clinic much faster than previously possible. This year, with governments’ support, tech companies will push even more to get these technologies used in routine clinical practice. While it was tough for the industry to support implementation remotely last year, with confidence growing in AI specifically, adoption will result in more clinical evidence being gathered.
Healthcare will struggle to recruit.
These pandemic years have been a strain on healthcare professionals globally. HCP’s are fatigued, and even though junior intake has not waned, experienced staff are leaving with some reports suggesting that as many as 30% feel so exhausted they could abandon their careers this year. In 2022 could technology adoption be sped up to close resourcing gaps? It’s possible, but it’s not easy to replace clinical professionals with years of experience, and indeed, we wouldn’t want to. Instead, automation tools will start to relieve HCP’s of mundane and time-consuming tasks. Technologies won’t solve the resourcing problem, but it will go some way to improve future employees’ wellbeing to increase retention, which is something worth investing in.
The great big tidy-up!
Having worked with many healthcare institutes globally, we’ve seen all sorts of data and indeed storage systems. We’ve witnessed the change from storing physical X-rays on film to CDs and now DICOM in the cloud. The last few years have seen massive growth in digital and just like the CD’s data is going to need sorting and storing. Being able to curate your data is the position all clinics want to be in, and the first step is to tidy what you have. This year, clinics will actively start putting measures to get the most out of their patient data. As a result, data specific departments and disciplines will become a priority to the clinic. Better data management will mean clinics will be able to capitalize on data driven innovations moving forward.
Sharing and collaboration
It is well known that by sharing data across the clinic, we invest in better patient care, but the effort it takes to realize this benefit has always been a barrier to progress. Vendor neutrality as a concept has been tossed about for over 20 years but only now are we seeing steps forward towards progress. The barrier has always been the situation with multiple hardware systems not speaking to each other, systems with different reporting methods on multiple machines across a group of clinics. With personalized medicine fast becoming the aspiration, clinics will be looking to adopt software systems that are secure, flexible and allow cross clinic collaboration.
Get in touch to share your thoughts. We would love to hear from you.
Comments