The healthcare market is changing dramatically, driven by factors such as healthcare delivery, growth in emerging markets, rising costs and the escalating use of information technology (IT).
North America is experiencing a rapidly growing healthcare market powered mostly by the state of our economy and healthcare reform. This new reform has revolutionized the way that healthcare providers recommend care and relate to their patients.
Progressive, tech-savvy patients raise expectations for better healthcare information. These factors, and the following emerging trends, are encouraging a deeper use of technology to control and cut costs while improving efficiency:
- Progressively mobile and actively involved patients that demand greater flexibility and automation in personal healthcare delivery
- The increasing need for better-quality access between patient and limited healthcare resources and caregivers
- An aging population, unhealthy lifestyle habits and growing chronic disease
- Extensive availability and affordability of new point-of-care tools and systems that decrease risk and errors
Our research shows that over 50% of healthcare providers do not have a healthcare IT roadmap, though they recognize the importance of digital health in increasing healthcare efficiency.
Not only has technology been an increasingly hot topic in the healthcare industry but its benefits can be seen and measured in real ways. In most cases, technology drastically helps to reduce cost while improving the patient experience over the long-term. Hosptitals, specifically, have a major need to have connected devices and IT solutions; not only for healthcare management but also to be eligible for government incentives and system regulation inspections.
This article will examine the current trends in technology advances for healthcare and medical device connectivity. It will also present a high level overview of key connectivity and interperability challenges in the global healthcare and medical device industry.
