What’s in Store for Health IT in 2018?

Next year, the health IT industry is poised for expansive growth, and according to a Frost & Sullivan, manufacturers’ revenues are expected to reach $1.85 trillion. With digital health investments growing by more than 100%  in 2017, Forbes only sees this trend continuing in the years to come. Here are their health IT predictions for 2018:

1. As-a-service models. Pay-as-you go business models, funding, spend, and revenue will continue the shift from CapEx to OpEx budgets, allowing organizations to avoid the heavy upfront costs that come with CapEx investments.
2. Emergence of Cloud. With the rise of value-based healthcare models will come the need for scalable cloud platforms. The global healthcare cloud computing market revenue for providers is expected to cross the $5 billion mark by 2018.
3. Non-traditional digital technology will gain traction. Non-traditional health IT companies such as Fitbit and Apple may enter the medical-grade arena.
4. Adoption of remote clinical trials. The integration of wearable devices and smartphone app data have demonstrated benefits with reducing trial costs and streamlining trial processes. Forbes predicts that remote clinical trials are in store for the future.
5. Robotics in Surgery. The automated robotics market is expected to cross an astounding $1.6 billion by 2018, with the increase crossing over to healthcare as well. Forbes predicts that by 2025, 80% of surgeries will take place with robotics.
6. Smart Hospitals in Asia-Pacific. Several trends such as “smart city” initiatives are pushing this concept. Next year it’s expected that the Asia-Pacific regions of South Korea, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia will account for approximately 3,200 smart hospital beds.
7. Cyberattacks will double. As the healthcare industry continues digitizing patient information, it will attract even more attention from cybercriminals interested in this valuable data.
8. Incentive-based wellness programs increase. Payer – Corporate partnerships are only expected to increase over the next year with data -driven incentives impacting premiums.
9. AI goes mainstream. AI will play a larger part in medical imaging over the next year. Medical imaging workflows that leverage AI will result in a 10-15% gain in productivity by enhancing the work of radiologists.
10. Blockchain moves from hype to reality. During 2018, the initial implementation of blockchain solutions will start to have early implications across insurance claim management, clearing houses, and other outsourced vendors.

You can read the full story from Forbes here.