The future of healthcare is shaping up in front of our very eyes with advances in digital healthcare technologies, such as artificial intelligence, VR/AR, 3D-printing, robotics or nanotechnology. We have to familiarize ourselves with the latest developments in order to be able to control technology and not the other way around.
The future of healthcare lies in working hand-in-hand with technology. Healthcare workers have to embrace emerging healthcare technologies in order to stay relevant in the coming years.
Be bold, curious and informed!
Thus, our task is to turn to technologies with an open mind and to prepare for the changing world with as much knowledge as possible.
Technology can only aid and improve our lives if we stand on its shoulders and if we are always (at least) two steps ahead. But if we adhere to this rule, the cooperation between people and technology could result in amazing achievements.
By embracing digital technology in healthcare, we can create sustainable systems, equalize doctor-patient relationships, and find more effective solutions for diseases, ultimately leading to healthier individuals and communities. It’s essential to start by improving our health and attitude towards health, medicine, and healthcare through digital technologies.
As you are probably well aware, we did our fair share in this preparation, writing hundreds of articles, creating hundreds of videos, publishing dozens of studies and research papers, and of course, writing a good number of books.
So what does it all look like in practice? To serve as an introduction, this article will explore 10 ways in which medical technology is reshaping healthcare. For more in-depth analysis and further examples, I invite you to check The Guide to the Future of Medicine.
1. Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has the potential to redesign healthcare completely. AI algorithms are able to mine medical records, design treatment plans or create drugs way faster than any current actor on the healthcare palette including any medical professional. And with the recent generative AI revolution, they finally became available and useful for everyday people and everyday healthcare professionals.
Atomwise aims to reduce the costs of medicine development by using supercomputers to predict from a database of molecular structures in advance which potential medicines will work, and which won’t. Their deep convolutional neural network, AtomNet, screens more than 100 million compounds each day.
2. Extended reality
Extended reality (XR) holds the potential to be the next major computing platform. Collectively, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) fall under the umbrella term of XR – and all of them are relevant in terms of the future of medicine.
The immersiveness that VR offers has made it an appropriate fit as a drug-free alternative for mental health care and pain management.
3. Health trackers, wearables and sensors
As the future of medicine and healthcare is closely connected to the empowerment of patients as well as individuals taking care of their own health through technologies, I cannot leave out health trackers, wearables and sensors from my selection:
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