WHAT TO WATCH IN 2024 in Digital Medicine - Karel's HealthTech Chronicles #10

Hello, dear readers, today I want to share with you what to watch in 2024 in the field of digital medicine. Let's start right now!

It's important to convey the most important message at the very beginning. We are going to witness a change in the entire industry. Change has come, and as drivers, we can mention new treatments, new diagnostics, financial limitations, and new technology creating a moment of change in the entire healthcare paradigm. Healthcare will never, ever be the same again!

Today, I will talk about the most important trends in healthcare and also about the individual tech areas worth watching in 2024. Here is the list of the most important topics I see:

1. Healthcare Revolution - Change of the Paradigm

2. New Technology

3. New People Entering Healthcare

4. Mental Health

5. New Way of Therapy Planning

6. Challenges in Europe

What on earth is happening? Healthcare revolution - Change of the Paradigm

What on earth is happening in our industry? Massive change is upon us. For centuries, European healthcare was about a doctor, a nurse, and patients. And now, suddenly, there is a new element: a machine. Are you getting it? All treatments will soon be AI-assisted, based on best practices. So it was, but now it is going to be advanced. The combination of the human brain and AI is the most powerful tool we've ever known in our history. Expect the unexpected.

Following the digital revolution in healthcare, we will see improved efficiency everywhere: paperless work, automation, robotization, predictive medicine, and much more.

A Traveler or a Co-pilot?

We will also see a change in the relationship between a doctor and a patient. Will we remain just travelers on the plane of our health, or will we become co-pilots? We all know how luxurious it is to enter a plane and let pilots and stewards take care of us. But I feel that with our health, it cannot work like that. We have to become more responsible. The new tools can help us do so.

New People Entering the Industry

It took quite a long time until healthcare started to be uberized. We can see so many improvements in almost all industries around us, but not so in healthcare. We can get a taxi in a few minutes anytime, we can get groceries in 90 minutes from the order. There are many great people, managers, behind these changes. And now healthcare is starting to open up for them. It was not possible recently, but finally, it comes. As we have seen that the above-mentioned changes worked in the benefit of the clients, I am sure now it will work in the benefit of patients. The healthcare managed to build certain walls within its reign like, "Oh, wait, it will not work in healthcare," these new people will destroy them. And it will help the entire industry to develop.

Mental Health

It is going to be HUGE! Mental health finally matters. We will witness a rapidly growing importance of mental health. We might also see some surprises like evidence of relations between our physical and mental health. We all know that the connection is clear, but so far, there is quite a lack of common evidence-based knowledge. This growing importance will be accompanied by the development of digital care solutions. There are already many use cases like digital mental health companions, apps for searching for the right psychotherapists, and others. This area will be one of the most exciting ones in healthcare. I expect the most groundbreaking discoveries here.

New Way of Therapy Planning - Therapies Planned by Humans and Machines Together

What a change! It has never happened recently. All therapies were created by humans. Do not take my quote in absolutism, but you know what I mean. Therapies will be suggested by machines in the future, confirmed by humans, but imagine also their collaboration. Mind-blowing. And if you integrate it into hospital information systems, hmm, the future is here. Adoption of AI is crucial here. And its development. But sooner or later it is going to be the reality. Let's watch the first steps on this journey and let's talk about the companies that are pioneers in this field.

Challenges in Europe

Solutions are determined by the problems. And we have some here in Europe. Demographic development means more and more elderly people in need of healthcare, lack of personnel, it is easy to see how these two problems are connected. The rise of chronic diseases and financial limits challenged by the costs of normal operations including incoming new treatments and devices. Is new tech able to bring a systemic solution or only laser-focused healing of specific problems? This is what is worth watching.

Now let's talk about the second part of the watchlist for 2024, the developments in different tech areas.

Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI was a booster. AI comes to life in ordinary hospitals.

We can expect:

- Strong development in AI diagnostics - all visual information will be assessed automatically. And not only static ones, but also videos.

- AI in predictive medicine. We have taught machines to see patterns, roots, and outcomes. AI in overall diagnostics and therapy planning is on the horizon.

- AI treating chronic diseases

- AI companion for every doctor and nurse - something like a pro-active medical Wikipedia

- AI able to deliver precise answers - I already wrote an article about it. The use case is to create customized GPTs based on, for instance, a PDF file with precise knowledge.

- And we cannot forget dozens of apps using AI for ordinary functions like voice to text, creation of medical records, chatbots, direct communication with patients, solutions for no-show, and many more.

- It will also be important to work on the legal aspect of the use of AI. All patients should be aware that sooner or later their therapies will use inputs created by AI.

Virtual Reality

It has been with us for quite a long time. Imagine it all started already in 1968 thanks to van Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull who created the first VR/AR head-mounted display. There are big expectations connected to VR and also big disappointment. People simply expect too much. We really expect another reality. And we are not yet there. On the other hand, the quality of the virtual environment is getting better and better. And one day we are going to see no differences between real life and a virtual one.

Virtual reality offers more than just another reality. It offers reality with customized rules. Our senses will be misled. It brings many opportunities for therapies. It will allow us to get back on track earlier. Here are some examples of use cases:

VR in Rehabilitation Already a proven thing. Many pieces of evidence that it works. It has the results. Thanks to gamification, the exercises are more efficient. Thanks to the changed perception of reality, people can exercise differently. The better the graphics and physics will be, the better outcomes VR apps in rehabilitation will have. We already monitor a few developers with great results.

VR in Acute Care VR has the potential to disrupt our focus. And our focus can shift our thoughts from feeling pain to something different. Let's see if VR can replace anesthesiology in some cases of low pain. I have already seen something like that, including for instance disruption for patients healing their wounds after burns.

VR in Education and Training Never-ending possibilities. VR brought a new way of learning things. Medical staff will be trained in VR. I already know apps for training ICU personnel, communication in difficult situations, and there is definitely much more.

Augmented Reality

We only wait here for the right device. The possibilities of AR are breathtaking. Doctors planning their operations, making diagnostics, learning the best practices. Nurses seeing online real-time vital functions data. Patients learning info about upcoming treatments. Managers visualizing data from P/L. Can't wait until such a device arrives. Maybe soon?

Chronic Diseases Management

There is a clear trend to do something with chronic diseases. Of course, it is one of the biggest burdens for the entire system. It will not be possible to finance care for chronic patients if we reach a critical limit of costs. And of course, we need to help people and treat them as the first rule of our existence. Digital healthcare will not stand behind. Already now there are plenty of apps helping chronic patients to improve their health status. But the apps for chronic diseases management, it would not be enough. We have to talk about prevention, predictive medicine, and real treatments. Let's see if digital healthcare can help find the solution.

Laboratories, Gene Diagnostics

Labs are also affected by the digital revolution. We expect faster and more precise results and groundbreaking findings in gene diagnostics.

Gene Therapies

And as we say gene diagnostics, we have to add gene therapies.

Telehealth

Telehealth is waiting for a new impulse. It does not mean that there is no development. I am sure that there is more and more care provided remotely. It would be nice to see some figures. People definitely start to like remote care. They have found out that it is faster, cheaper, and good enough to solve their problems. It is worth seeing what new tech will bring to this area.

Robotization

There will not be enough surgeons in the future anymore. Robotization is the answer. People were pessimistic about the future of surgical robots. I believe the opposite. I see a bright future. There will be more and more operations executed by robots and more and more suppliers of surgical robotic equipment. Let's see if we discover robots in other fields than sophisticated surgery.

Automation

The way to combat exponentially growing bureaucracy and administration is through automation. Let's automate what can be automated: data transfer, vital function monitoring, data gathering, diagnostics, therapy planning, reservation systems, voice-to-text, etc. Let's simplify processes. Automation was recently underestimated. Perhaps the upcoming financial constraints or the shortage of medical personnel will drive this change. People simply do not want to be overwhelmed by bureaucracy.

Logistics

This is one area that will be managed similarly to other industries. Logistics is fundamentally the same everywhere: it's about speed, accuracy, and low costs. The Internet of Things, RFID chips, and sophisticated logistics systems will bring more efficiency to our operations.

Hospital Information Systems

There are plenty of systems in healthcare, but let me mention the crucial ones: Hospital Information Systems (HIS). They are key to further development. The sooner they adapt their design and implement new tech functionalities, the better. Unfortunately, there are significant barriers, such as development costs, IT budgets of hospitals, localization costs, and more. Nonetheless, the new generation of HIS can bring about a revolution. We all await the healthcare equivalent of Windows or iOS. May the brightest minds make it happen.

Combination of Technology

Do you see it? If we combine all the technologies, it will lead to exponential change. Imagine therapy planning integrated with AR and robotization – that's just the beginning. We now possess tools that were once only dreams. Imagine all the aforementioned technologies becoming routine in hospital operations; it's like creating a new industry. It reminds me of the tools used to treat young Skywalker after his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi. That’s how I envision it, as a visionary.

Blockchain

Blockchain is one of the most promising disruptive technologies. So far, I haven’t seen any substantial use cases in healthcare, but I'm keen to find and learn about them.

Internet is Not Enough – The Metaverse is Coming

Metaverse Healthcare is on the horizon, and it promises to be transformative. It's still being defined, but we can already see the early signs. I don't know who will win this race, but I'm certain it's going to be monumental. Discussing visions, the Metaverse is a concept even I, as a healthcare visionary, find hard to fully grasp.

New EU Legislation

It's unfortunate to conclude this article on this note, as I'm not a fan of bureaucracy. However, some legislative framework is important. Therefore, we should also pay attention to developments in this field, especially regarding regulations like NIS 2.0 or EHDS.

Note from the author

It took me considerable effort to compile this article. I may not have covered everything comprehensively, but I've tried to condense my current knowledge. I'm very open to further discussions and sharing new ideas and thoughts. I would be more than grateful if you could leave me a note with anything I might have overlooked.

Happy New Year 2024, dear readers!

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