While in 2020, the coronavirus dramatically altered the way healthcare is practiced in the U.S. and around the world, 2021 has had its own unique challenges — namely divergent views on vaccines, powerful COVID-19 variants, and hospitals bursting at the seams as they balance caring for patients with and without the virus.
Technology has proven crucial to keeping the healthcare industry resilient in the face of so many challenges. The simultaneous widespread adoption of virtual care delivery along with the rapid pace of vaccine creation and distribution have provided hope for many as the world adjusted to a “new normal.”
Based on articles Extract has written over the last 12 months, news headlines, and an understanding of the market, below are my predictions for 2022 healthcare trends:
Consumerization will continue to see rapid growth.
As major retailers continue to gain a traction in the primary care industry, patients will continue to see more convenient options than ever. CVS, Walgreens, and other retail pharmacy chains are turning primary care into a one-stop shop allowing patients to by one location, get seen by a physician, pick up their medications, and grab groceries on their way out.
Data Analytics will allow for faster innovation.
Medical organizations are leveraging machine learning algorithms to analyze specific data points, which can help inform future development efforts, allow for faster turnaround times, and increase the amount of time a physician can spend with their patients. Data analytics also holds promise for predictive medicine, using AI to analyze tests and medical records, tracking the effects of different therapies on groups of patients over time.
Digital Care isn’t going anywhere.
As the healthcare landscape changes, providers will continue embracing technology to help improve their patient outcomes. Throughout the pandemic, telemedicine and virtual care programs allowed doctors to monitor patients remotely using sensors that track vital signs, health records, and other personal information. In 2022, finding more consumer-facing solutions such as hybrid models that include both face-to-face and telemedicine will be one way to shift as we (hopefully) transition away from the pandemic.
Structuring Unstructured Data
The pandemic put a spotlight on health disparities in the U.S. Even with alarming racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection, many states were not reporting COVID-19 mortality by race and ethnicity. Health systems should focus on unlocking their healthcare data that remains unstructured. This will be key to making it more actionable for stakeholders across care settings and it is crucial to gaining big-picture insights.
Machine learning tools such as natural language processing and text mining can help health systems reveal valuable health equity insights hidden in unstructured clinical data that is difficult to store, search, analyze, and share across health systems.
As 2022 approaches, healthcare industry players will continue working toward better meeting the needs of their patients, doctors, and nursing staff. These predictions look to a world where patients and healthcare workers are benefitting from smart, actionable data, and new ways to collaborate, as collaboration and automation can improve healthcare delivery to everyone.
Here at Extract, it is our mission is to improve patient care and reduce the cost of healthcare by delivering data to the EMR so that physicians and staff can quickly diagnose and treat their patients. Our HealthyData Platform uses an advanced OCR engine and document clues to ensure all the necessary data is identified and collected. The key data is then routed and sent to the appropriate department or system. Criteria is applied based on document type or other information contained within a given file. Our platform can integrate with an organization’s existing systems- such as an EHR, HIS, LIS or ECM platform. Once the data has been captured and routed, the information is then able to be reported on. This allows stakeholders to see analyzed and trended reports on their business insights.
For more information why we do what we do, visit this recent blog.
About the Author: Taylor Genter
Taylor is the Marketing Specialist at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.