It’s that time of year, when more people spend time in clinics and doctors’ offices, as cold and flu season gets underway. Many of us likely remember a time before electronic appointment check-ins, digital thermometers and texted prescription reminders. Those were minor advancements in the progress of healthcare tech, but we’ve easily accepted their role in our regular visits.
Few of us would likely question technology’s role in the evolution of healthcare. That evolution continues at a record-breaking pace, as companies move to get a bigger share of the healthcare pie. 2020 is expected to bring at least some significant changes.
- Bill Frist launches CareBridge, a new health care tech company backed by Google [The Tennessean] “Frist, who will be chairman of the CareBridge board, said in an interview the company will used predictive modeling and data aggregation to modernize care for people who receive long-term support services in their homes. Frist described the existing administrative systems for this care – a state-by-state hodgepodge of Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies – as “highly fragmented and dysfunctional.” CareBridge will also offer round-the-clock support of high-risk patients by deploying tablets into their homes.”
- Healthcare AI Tech is Here, Now We Must Learn to Manage the Data [Xconomy] “Molecular Health, a software firm focused on transforming big data into analysis and prediction tools for healthcare companies, believes biotech is in the early days of using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in drug discovery and development. It is not the technology available holding the industry back, but the managing and the monitoring of the data involved, according to Molecular Health CEO Friedrich von Bohlen.
- Inside Google’s Quest for Millions of Medical Records [Wall Street Journal] ” The prospect of tech giants’ amassing huge troves of health records has raised concerns among lawmakers, patients and doctors, who fear such intimate data could be used without individuals’ knowledge or permission, or in ways they might not anticipate. “
- How Tech Will Shake Up Healthcare in 2020 [ReadWrite] “The past year yielded further advancements in medical technology. Telemedicine practices helped doctors connect with top-rated specialists. Blockchain technology eased the transfer of healthcare records while keeping patient data safe. Indeed, some of the biggest healthcare trends of 2019 were about making the industry more accessible and agile. What can the healthcare industry expect from technology in 2020? Here are three trends to watch.”
From the Ohio Web Library:
- CAPITALIZING ON HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENABLE DIGITAL ADVANTAGE IN U.S. HOSPITALS ( Karahanna, E., Adela Chen, Qianqian Ben Liu, & Serrano, C. (2019). Capitalizing on Health Information Technology to Enable Digital Advantage in U.S. Hospitals. MIS Quarterly, 43(1))
- User involvement in digital health: Working together to design smart home health technology ( Burrows, A., Meller, B., Craddock, I., Hyland, F., & Gooberman, H. R. (2019). User involvement in digital health: Working together to design smart home health technology. Health Expectations, 22(1), 65–73. )
- What’s trending in digital health technologies to support aging in place? ( What’s trending in digital health technologies to support aging in place? (2019). Journal on Active Aging, 18(4), 60–63. )
