Many industries saw a huge blow in operations and other aspects in the past two years, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare industry was impacted from many angles while it was the sector that required the most perseverance to survive the pandemic. COVID-19 and its aftermath brought a lot of changes to the healthcare sector to the extent that it became highly digitalized.

The industry was negatively impacted financially due to the 2022 recession too. Bankruptcy filings for major healthcare organizations in 2022 are reported to be 28% higher than 2021. Therefore, a lot of changes are expected to come into place in 2023 to help negate this negative impact.

Medical trends predicted for 2023

The healthcare industry is expected to take a major twist in 2023, with the integration of various technologies and applications to streamline processes. It enables efficient management and also neutralizes the impact that the pandemic had on the industry.

Here are the medical trends predicted for 2023 to improve and enhance operations in the healthcare sector.

Role of artificial intelligence in healthcare

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is expected to top $20 million in 2023. It can significantly improve patientcare and clinical decision-making procedures required by healthcare practitioners. AI can impact the healthcare sector in a multitude of ways including the following:

Improve patient care.

Enable physicians to enhance work performance while maintaining work/life balance.

Support healthcare facilities to provide high-quality medical care and related services.

Improving patient experience with increased patient engagement

Mobile technology has drastically improved patient management and engagement. By 2030, the market size of patient engagement solutions is expected to reach $74.28 billion, which is a significant increase of $13.42 billion in 2021. Reducing friction points and seamlessly engaging with patients is one of the primary objectives of the healthcare sector in terms of improving patient experience.

The following are the factors that healthcare management needs to consider for enhancing patient engagement and improving patient needs:

Patient’s digital experience

Easy access to patient’s data

Administrative efficiency

Identifying the importance of work culture

Creating the much-needed human interaction and connection

Integrating robotics into healthcare

Robotics is an upcoming trend in the healthcare sector with more organizations moving towards the application of this technology into industry operations. The integration of robotics into healthcare has several benefits including the following:

It helps facilitate the transport of patients.

It assists in conducting surgeries on patients.

It helps deliver vaccines in remote areas.

It helps medical staff direct patients to their rooms, from the reception area.

In nursing homes, it helps monitor falls, moving goods, patients who need assistance, and delivering goods.

It helps in sanitizing and disinfecting hospitals and various clinical settings.

Robotics is another promising area in the healthcare sector, which shows much growth in the near future. Unmanned vehicles such as drones are used in the medical industry, proving this point to the world. The global drone market value was $6.51 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to $47.38 billion by 2029.

Monitoring health through wearable devices

Wearable devices have enabled personalized, data-driven care for all patients. This advanced technology has allowed patients to be informed on everything related to their healthcare, while on the go. This type of digital health software applications play a vital role in preventing various illnesses. Wearable devices are especially popular in medical care related to cardiovascular and mental health.

Focusing on mental health

Investing in mental health is vital at an era when psychological issues have taken an upper hand, often costing people’s lives. The pandemic also had a major impact on people as they needed to adjust to living isolated. It increased the number of mental health issues that individuals experienced, thereby forcing the healthcare sector to focus on this aspect to find appropriate solutions. Digital mental health solutions and related applications are on the rise with platforms designed to enable more access to and connect patients with mental healthcare practitioners and providers.

Addressing staffing shortages and employee retention

Staffing shortages have become a major problem in many healthcare organizations. Retirement, employee retention, and burnout are some of the major factors that cause staff shortages. An estimated 1 in 5 healthcare workers decided to opt out of work during the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated the need for an additional 18 million healthcare workers to fill the gap by 20130. It estimates the need for a further 9.9 million nurses and midwives to meet the rising demands, globally.

The implementation of a digital care space and friendly working environment, and the addition of new roles can promote employee retention, thereby providing a solution to staff shortages due to burnout.

Utilizing telehealth systems

Telehealth has been around for several years, and it is expected to become more in use in 2023. Telehealth systems provide quicker service that is more affordable than conventional healthcare appointments. It also enables the integration of information from several patient visits and test report results into e-health records.

Boosting cloud technology

Cloud computing is another technological advancement that is common in the healthcare sector. It leverages remotely-available data, which enables patients and healthcare practitioners to easily access patient medical history and other related information. Cloud technology provides a scalable way to enhance and optimize patient care. Cloud computing in healthcare is expected to increase over the next decade from $26.5 billion to $66.3 billion.

Enhancing data privacy and security

With the use of technologies such as cloud computing and telehealth systems, the need for data privacy and security is essential. Healthcare leaders need to ensure that patient details are secure and confidentiality is maintained. Therefore, healthcare organizations utilize methodologies such as block chain to ensure data protection is in place. Blockchain also enhances the work performance and efficiency of processes within healthcare systems.

Novel ways to ensure data privacy and security are constantly been found to ensure patient confidentiality is maintained.

Focusing on healthcare inequalities with social determinants of health

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are environmental conditions where people are born and live, impacting wide range of health, quality-of-life outcomes, and health-related risks. Examples of SDOH include the following:

Education

Social protection and income

Food insecurity

Work life environment

Structural conflict

Early childhood development

Basic facilities such as housing and the environment

Job insecurity and unemployment

Social inclusion

Access to quality healthcare

Healthcare-related organizations like WHO have initiated several programs that address these issues. Addressing the challenges of SDOH and successfully moving forward with patient care is another medical trend predicted for 2023.

Conclusion

Medical trends keep evolving over time in order to address timely issues. The above trends are expected to take on the healthcare sector in 2023, thereby ensuring access to high-quality healthcare at a global scale for all patients that require the same.

Medfuture is constantly working on ways and means to provide healthcare workers with access to the best jobs in the industry. Increased job satisfaction is required for employee retention in the industry.

Our job board is continuously updated with the latest medical jobs that provide any benefits to employees, such as high pay rates, flexible work hours, and the ability to maintain work-life balance.