Four digital health trends for 2022

We are at a strange crossroads. On the one hand, it feels like the world has stopped calculating passing time from March 2020. On the other hand, in the healthcare industry, it feels like it has advanced from two decades, with the normally slow pace of innovation breaking all sorts of records and expectations.

The sink or swim mentality brought about by the COVID pandemic has accelerated innovation in all aspects of healthcare. As the dust settles, many stakeholders are realizing that their reasons for resisting disruptive technologies were unfounded, and they are looking for ways to maximize the opportunities the pandemic has opened up. Digital health financing is exploding, and the sky is the limit for a health world that is suddenly and solidly committed to technological innovations.

Here’s what more we can expect to see in the coming year.

The Rise of Direct-to-Consumer Healthcare

Once relegated to niche silos, direct-to-consumer technology, also known as the concierge approach, has gained traction this year as the employer market becomes increasingly saturated. The high quality of use of technology offerings such as GoodRx, Hims & Hers, Ro and Curology contributed to the success. These companies can’t afford to skimp on the user experience – because users are paying out of pocket, there’s a bigger barrier to adoption. On the other hand, the lack of a guaranteed customer base along with reduced access to consumer data with the new ability to disable in-app data sharing on the latest Apple iOS, means that these companies rush when it comes to user acquisition.

Mental health is a priority

The stigma surrounding mental health issues has slowly dissipated over the past decade, but as with many things, COVID has accelerated exposure to the problem and made the search for solutions urgent. And with high profile celebrities like Simone Biles sharing their stories of mental health issues, the market has never been more ripe for solutions. But while the market has been flooded with text therapy apps and other meditation and mindfulness tools meant to promote better mental health, questions about effectiveness and results are hampering their progress. We can expect to see continued demand for solutions, but innovators are going to have to address issues of scale and advocate for the adequacy of digital media to address issues such as trauma.

“Beyond” telemedicine

In the first frantic months of the pandemic, health systems rushed to offer telemedicine to their patients. In many cases, this simply meant that a patient had the ability to see a provider via video. Although in-person visits have returned, many patients have become accustomed to the convenience of virtual care and expect to have it as an option, but are concerned about the quality of care and the limitations of the type of care that can be provided by video (hint: it’s not much) have led to the use of remote patient monitoring (RPM) as a complementary tool. With RPM, patients can track certain vital signs from home via a tethered or handheld device, and add their data to a central database. One of the added benefits of RPM that adds to its popularity is the ability to have asynchronous patient-provider interactions, which is especially critical in a field that is under increasing pressure due to provider shortages.

Digital health: from a solution to an ecosystem

The rapid influx of mobile apps for various health needs has created a new breed of technology: digital health companies that exist solely to serve other digital health companies. Digital marketplace services like Xealth and Redox are simplifying the process for vendors to order and prescribe various digital tools and services directly through the EMR, while companies like Zus are trying to address data isolation issues with a data isolation solution. patient-centric data exchange.

Underlying all of these trends is a more widespread overhaul of the health care system. The pandemic has forced the healthcare industry to plug the dike with every tool at its disposal. Now he is evaluating whether these tools are even the appropriate solution to the problems and needs of the modern system. We will continue to see these infrastructure changes for the foreseeable future as the world adjusts to a post-pandemic world.

Anish Sebastian co-founded Babyscripts in 2013 with the vision that internet-enabled medical devices and big data would transform the delivery of pregnancy care. Since the company was founded, they have raised over $37 million. As CEO of BabyScripts, Anish has focused his efforts on product and software development, as well as research validation of their product.

Maria J. Book