PHARMA, HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL TRENDS 2019

The Big, Macro Health Trend for 2019 – the consumerisation of health

But before we start – what defines a “true” SD-WAN? Are you sure that your IT provider is skilled enough to offer the solution that is ultimately best suited to you?

This trend, once started, cannot be stopped, will not be stopped, as the consumer increasingly perceives their own role as crucial in the health care they receive, the preventative measures they take and the monitoring of outcomes.

One of the seismic shifts will be a fundamental move toward a value-based market, where providers will need to be more responsive to their patients. Online technology will enable this more collaborative approach to healthcare and will be the only viable route to its provision, given that human-centred resources are already severely stretched in GP surgeries and hospitals alike.

Pay per performance drug models are already apace and uptake of wearable health tech is growing monthly. However, with this consumerisation will come customer choice – no longer will it be just health care professionals who decide what meds and what tech to use, and businesses that previously rarely dealt with end-users will need robust innovation strategies to meet this direct demand.

Doctor Chat and Nurse Bot – Artificial Intelligence trends

The rise of diagnostic chat bots will intrinsically change the role of doctors and GP surgeries forever. In tests Babylon Health’s chatbot passed 82% of test questions, versus the average rate of 72% for human doctors, while Moorfields Hospital stated that their Deepmind scanner can identify more than 50 ophthalmological conditions and made correct diagnoses 94% of the time.
While this might look ‘futuristic’ and a step down from face-to-face consultations in hospital-centric systems – albeit with huge potential in cost and time savings – it will quickly become the ‘norm’ in emerging economies, globally.

Now Tablets Don’t Mean Pills – online video and voice activation trends

With recent reports of elderly people in residential care bunking off to go to rock concerts and the aging, computer-savvy generation, ‘tablets’ no longer mean just pills. Couple this with the consumerisation of health trend and there is going to be an ever-increasing need for online information that can be accessed and understood by the end-user.

Any and all providers within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector will need to have online content that is fit for patient consumption across all demographics. Video and voice recognition are their mediums of choice and make online health advice easily accessible for older people, a demographic increasing in numbers and often disposable income. While the younger generation measure everything visually. And none of them have the patience (no pun intended) for buffering.

The Bionic Man Meets Nano-tech – time for forge pharma and tech partnerships

The NHS has announced the advent of a technological revolution with its new app. Although they might be behind the technological 8 ball, expect them to be seeking technology partners – some imbedded others outsourced – who will not only update, but create a huge surge in their tech adoption. 
This will drive an increased expectation of the technological abilities of any companies dealing with the NHS. These relationships will drive further step change that will explode into the 2020’s when inventing, testing and bringing to market such things as nano-health tech and bionics will herald a new age of healthcare.

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