6 New Trends in Healthcare for 2020

As the current crisis surrounding COVID-19 shows, innovation in healthcare is more important than ever before. Medical providers and patients alike need to have access to the most cutting-edge developments in healthcare in order to get products and services they need at a price that works.

Tech has been disrupting the world of medicine for as long as medicine has been around, but new developments in computing and internet technologies have significantly quickened the pace. No matter what place you have in the world of healthcare, new trends are going to change the way you work in 2020 — trends you should get on top of today.

While it’s impossible to know exactly what will take hold and what won’t, here are six new trends poised to change healthcare in a major way in the coming months:

1. Telehealth Consultations

As hospitals and doctors’ offices are getting overloaded with new patients, telehealth visits have surged by up to 50% in just the last several weeks. The ability for doctors to communicate remotely with their patients has already proven to be a valuable tool in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, but the value of telehealth extends far beyond the current crisis.

Digital checkups and consultations offer medical providers more flexibility when dealing with patients, making it easier to maximize their schedule’s potential.  While many providers already have telehealth services in place, 2020 will see this trend reach new heights of relevancy.

2. Online Access to Medication

Digital tools don’t just allow doctors to consult with their patients remotely; they also allow patients to get some of the care they need without having to go through their regular provider at all. For example, telemedicine companies are helping to satisfy the demand for medications requiring prescriptions like birth control while simultaneously lightening the load on primary care physicians across the country.

Digital providers can connect patients with medical professionals who consult with women over the internet before prescribing them the option that works best for them. Another benefit is choice — providers like Nurx offer over 100 different brands of birth control, ensuring that all women have access to options that fit their needs. It’s not just a question of convenience either: many doctors are currently dedicating their time to fighting COVID-19, and getting birth control and other prescriptions online helps ensure that they can continue to focus on the crisis at hand.

3. Artificial Intelligence

On January 1st of this year, Google reported a startling fact: their DeepMind AI model was better at detecting and identifying breast cancer than the average human oncologist. AI is finally reaching a point where it’s capable of taking on serious duties in the world of healthcare and executing them well. While today it may just be spotting breast cancer, the possibilities for tomorrow are even greater.

Artificial intelligence isn’t sidelining doctors, however. While programs might be particularly adept at identifying specific diseases or assessing certain vital signs, human doctors are still the only group capable of looking at a patient in their entirety and prescribing the right treatment from there. Doctors working alongside artificial intelligence will change the state of medicine — both in 2020 and the years to come.

4. Wearable Tech

Wearables have been on the uptick in popularity for several years now, with heavy-hitters like the Fitbit and Apple Watch leading the crowd. Only now, though, are healthcare providers starting to take full advantage of these devices’ potential as medical tools.

With devices like the Fitbit already fully capable of syncing up with other apps, it’s only a matter of time before systems arise that can send the information gathered by devices straight to doctors. That kind of long-term tracking can help medical professionals identify previously hidden conditions or monitor recovery from illness, saving and improving lives along the way.

5. 3D Printing

While 3D printing has been on the rise in the medical world for several years, it still has yet to penetrate the larger market — a fact almost certain to change in the coming months. 3D printing firm Materialise reports that 25% of surgeons will rely on 3D-printed models of their patients by as soon as next year. By helping doctors navigate the unseen parts of their patients, printed models will allow for more effective diagnosis and treatment.

A bit further down the line — but poised to make an even larger impact — is the possibility of 3D-printed transplants. Artificial limbs are already commonly 3D-printed in order to conform to each patient, but functioning internal organs created using a combination of 3D printing and biotech can change the way organ failure is handled in the medical world today.

6. Chatbots

Chatbots aren’t just digital tools reserved for the world of startups and marketing companies — they’re changing healthcare as well. One chatbot deployed by a hospital in Washington State made the correct recommendation to its patients as often as 90% of the time. With recent developments in language processing and machine learning, that number gets closer to 100% with every passing day.

The most obvious benefit of chatbots is the time they save medical professionals. Whereas significant portions of a nurse’s day might be simply asking questions and inputting information, the information gathered by chatbots can let nurses spend more time than ever on their patients. Chatbots allow hospitals and other healthcare providers to have loads of relevant information on their patients before they even speak with them.

The world of healthcare is always changing, and 2020 is forcing change to come more quickly than ever. By knowing the major trends to come, you can be prepared for how healthcare will change in the coming months — and beyond.