The world has changed greatly in the past decade, and the healthcare industry is no exception. With the Covid-19 pandemic and the financial downturn, as well as the rapid adoption of technology and digitization, the landscape has drastically changed for patients and practitioners. In addition, the healthcare industry is looking at digital transformation as a way to improve efficiency, patient experience, and patient outcomes.
Here are some of the major trends of 2023 in the Healthcare sector:
Wearable medical devices: As wearable medical devices become more prevalent in 2023, individuals will be able to track their own health and exercise activity, as well as clinicians to oversee patients remotely. Recent years have seen the “Internet of Medical Things” expand rapidly from simple devices that track heart rate and blood oxygen levels to smartwatches that can scan complex signals like electrocardiograms, smart textiles that can detect blood pressure and predict heart attack risk, and smart gloves that reduce Parkinson’s disease tremors. Recently, a study demonstrated that physical indicators such as activity levels, sleep patterns, and heart rates could be used to detect depression, and medical wearables may soon incorporate some of these features.
Telehealth and telemedicine: With the advent of Covid-19, large sectors of the economy were shut down, and trends in medical practices and healthcare technology were altered considerably. The idea of spending time in a room with others who were likely to have the virus, let alone face-to-face encounters at the reception and with doctors and nurses, caused many patients to cancel their appointments. Therefore, telehealth usage skyrocketed as doctors could still see patients in a limited capacity. Experts predict that the use of telemedicine will continue to rise. According to a report, the costs of medical telehealth services are expected to rise by 265% between 2020 and 2023, from $29 billion to $106 billion.
Cloud Technology for Easy Access: Patient portals play a key role in the transformation of healthcare to the cloud. This means patients can review laboratory and imaging results, pay bills, communicate with doctors and office staff, and even schedule appointments through the portal. Thanks to cloud technology, patients can access their medical records directly on any device, eliminating the need to wait on hold for a prescription renewal or appointment.
These trends, however, accumulate exponential amounts of patient data every step of the way, most of which is unstructured. To utilize this data effectively, healthcare organizations need to structure and implement processes and technologies that can extract maximum intelligence from it in a governed and secure environment.
Microsoft Azure in the Healthcare Sector
The key to efficient and effective healthcare data management lies with Microsoft Azure. By migrating their data to the cloud, organizations can use Azure products and services—including hybrid cloud, mixed reality, AI, and IoT—to drive better health outcomes, improve security, scale faster, and enhance data interoperability.. Microsoft Azure is working with healthcare customers and data management partners, like Data Dynamics, to set a course for recovery and resilience in this ever-changing environment.
Microsoft’s Azure File Migration Program has made data migration easier by sponsoring the usage of Data Dynamics’ StorageX, which has made cloud adoption much easier and cost-effective. The Azure File Migration Program allows companies to migrate applications and workloads with large numbers of files, unstructured data, and object storage data into Azure for FREE. Click here to know more. Or contact us at solutions@datdyn.com I (713)-491-4298.
