The next decade is bound to see major changes in clinical medicine and the healthcare industry all together. This is in large part due to major advances in certain forms of technology, but also due to things such as regulation changes, research, and more. Perhaps the most exciting reason for its future growth is due to technology such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things (IoT), and big data, just to name a few.
As much as this technology is going to prove itself useful in the clinic and help save lives, it is also going to break open new markets financially. According to Persistence Market Research, the market for internet of things technology will reach around $60 billion dollars by 2025. More specifically, healthcare uses of IoT will take up roughly 70% of the market value. Products such as wearable devices, monitors, and other devices that analyze health metrics will be responsible for much of that market share. The Fitbit, Apple Watch, and other similar products are already having success in the market.
Devices and systems that utilize big data and artificial intelligence will also lead to even more market growth. For example, clinical decision support systems which rely heavily on large amounts of data and artificial intelligence are expected to nearly triple in market value by 2022. As many of these systems become implemented in hospitals and clinics with success, we can expect the market to continue to grow at an even faster rate – especially since the possibilities for using artificial intelligence effectively in the medical industry are so vast.
Many of these “next-generation” healthcare technologies are being used with one goal in mind – to provide safer, more efficient, and more patient-oriented care, and most of them are being developed specifically to do just that, along with other technologies such as blockchain, which has proven its potential to disrupt the way the current healthcare system functions.
Along with their opportunities to save lives comes financial opportunity, paving the way for markets and industries that have until now never been of much significance.