On factor contributing to the growth of digital tools in health care: U.S. regulators, notoriously slow to respond to change, are actually poised to become more nimble. (Image: Shutterstock)
Continuing innovation, both in the U.S. and abroad, coupled with consumer demand, is accelerating the global health care system's use of digital tools, a new report finds.
The new report, "The Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Digital Health," was released recently by Business Insider Intelligence. It suggests that market forces, regulatory moves and technology are combining for explosive growth of digital health tools and platforms.
|Innovations in emerging markets
The study notes that paradoxically, established markets such as the U.S. and Europe may not be as ripe for innovation compared to emerging markets such as China and India. "Digital health companies in many emerging markets have fewer incumbents to compete with and less legacy infrastructure to overcome compared with developed markets like the U.S.," the report said. "That means there are fewer barriers to establishing new products and services. It could also mean that governments will work to remove regulatory constraints to help the emerging industry grow faster."
In addition, Asian countries tend to have large populations, and a high percentage of consumers in poor, rural areas. The report said this means that these markets will be able to test innovations on a wide scale and will have incentives to keep the innovations as affordable and accessible as possible.
In the U.S. particularly, expect to see more consolidation, the study said. The researchers predicted three ongoing developments: legacy firms will merge and use their combined resources to protect or gain market share; legacy firms will also acquire digital startups as they compete with other players, and tech giants will partner with legacy firms, rather than competing directly with them.
|Regulators are getting up to speed
The report said that U.S. regulators, notoriously slow to respond to change, are actually poised to become more nimble. "The speed at which digital health technology sprung up far outpaced the U.S. government's ability to regulate these new services," the researchers note. "But efforts started in 2017 by the FDA will begin to have an impact in 2018."
"Moreover, the focus of these bills is on expediting the time it takes for innovative products to come to market — such as the updated Medical Device User Fee Agreement (MDUFA) — or on expanding the reach and purview of mobile solutions — such as the CHRONIC Care Act," the report added.
|The rise of AI and chatbots
The new study noted several AI-type efforts, such as IBM's Watson and MDLIVE, which are providing useful new health care applications. These efforts improved diagnostic results as well as encouraged patient interactions with providers.
"In 2018, it's likely we'll see even more examples of AI's capabilities as firms work to prove the effectiveness of their solutions, not only to justify the massive investments being made, but also as a way to rise to the top of what's becoming an extremely competitive market — healthcare AI VC deal volume and funding hit a five-year high in 2016, with $794 million in investments," the report said.
On the down side, however, cyber-attacks are likely to continue to accelerate, as health data continues to move from paper to digital forms, the study said. Both patients and providers will find these attacks costly, possibly creating more pressure for regulation in this area.
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