Five Major Innovation Trends Set to Transform the Healthcare Industry in 2019

Editor’s Note: This article is republished from PharmaCube, authored by Qing Wa. VCBeat has republished it with authorization.

What Role Will Technology Play in the Healthcare Industry in 2019? For venture capitalists and others interested in the healthcare sector, it is crucial to predict the direction of industry innovation more accurately than their peers.

Recently, MedCity News forecasted the five major innovation trends that would shape the industry in 2019 and proposed strategies for preparing to capitalize on these trends.

Drug abuse is a health epidemic driven by public behavior, particularly referring to the opioid crisis. It is reported that more than 130 people die daily in the United States from opioid-related overdoses. Prior to initiating heroin use, 80% of heroin users reported a history of prescription opioid misuse.

While opioid misuse has borne the brunt of attention, the epidemic impact of other substance abuses on overall health cannot be overlooked. For instance, a growing number of individuals are experiencing eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation. Yet, the current healthcare service system is unable to rapidly and accurately assess patients’ mental health status, let alone provide readily accessible corresponding care services.

On one hand, the rising costs associated with substance misuse are exacerbating health issues, with methadone and buprenorphine gaining increasing popularity; the U.S. market for opioids alone exceeds $28.9 billion annually. On the other hand, there is an average delay of 8 to 10 years between the initial onset of mental health symptoms and the commencement of intervention.

From a business perspective, healthcare providers should have strategically positioned themselves in diagnosis and treatment before these issues escalated into widespread epidemics. For instance, they could better manage prescription volumes for abused substances through mandatory pre-set health screenings and tracking technologies; seek alternatives to opioids; and simultaneously develop new processes and technologies to prevent the consequences of drug abuse.

Another development that will impact the healthcare industry is the rise of precision medicine (genomics).

By focusing on patients’ protein interactions and genetic profiles to optimize treatment strategies, this approach to patient care has achieved remarkable success in oncology. Not only have various targeted therapies flourished, but companies specializing in companion diagnostic molecular (genetic) testing have also reaped substantial profits.

By comparing the DNA of patients’ tumor cells with that of normal cells, researchers can elucidate the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and identify the most therapeutically vulnerable sites. Furthermore, by tracking the genetic profiles of tumor patients, physicians can determine which treatments are best suited for specific patient populations.

A recent study published by Scipher Medicine reveals that, in fact, the world’s five best-selling drugs fail to deliver genuine therapeutic benefits for 65% of patients. If the healthcare industry seeks a novel approach to curbing prescription drug costs and addressing R&D budget overruns, precision medicine represents a promising direction.

MedCityNews predicts that precision medicine will not only continue to gain momentum in oncology this year but also become more prevalent in fields beyond oncology. In 2018, Northwestern University conducted genetic analyses of joint tissues to apply precision medicine to rheumatoid arthritis, aiming to determine which medications are suitable for which patients.

Data shows a significant upward trend in the volume of outpatient surgeries over the past four to five years. Increasing patient education efforts are highlighting the benefits of timely treatment at specialized centers—adhering to the principle of “the right care, in the right place, at the right time”—rather than waiting for an inpatient hospital bed to become available.

Meanwhile, such patient education does not necessarily originate solely from hospitals; many insurance companies have taken the lead in mandating the provision of a substantial portion of this education through incentives and empowerment, thereby shifting traditional inpatient surgical procedures to outpatient settings.

More importantly, Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) are becoming increasingly specialized and focused on enhancing patient care, gradually transitioning complex surgical procedures—including certain minimally invasive vascular surgeries—into the outpatient setting.

Studies have shown that ambulatory surgery centers offer significantly better treatment outcomes and lower infection rates, saving patients millions in treatment costs annually. It is projected that by 2019, such innovations will better meet the needs of ambulatory surgery centers.

FortiGuard Labs reported that last year, each organization in the healthcare industry experienced an average of 32,000 intrusion attacks per day, compared to only 14,300 in other industries.

Unfortunately, cybersecurity standards in healthcare organizations still lag far behind those in the financial and retail sectors. In fact, healthcare data is often more valuable to cybercriminals than any data held by financial institutions or retailers; stolen health records are reported to fetch 10 to 20 times more on the black market than credit card information.

2018 was likely the worst year on record for compliance violations in the healthcare industry, with breaches exposed in nearly every quarter. In the United States alone, 4.39 million medical records were compromised in the third quarter of 2018; the situation can only be imagined to be worse in other countries and regions with weaker security awareness.

As the saying goes, “As virtue rises one foot, vice rises ten.” While IT professionals continuously explore new security measures, cybercriminals are employing increasingly sophisticated and hard-to-defend-against tactics. Consequently, it is projected that by 2019, a growing number of healthcare institutions will take significant steps to enhance data security.

Another influential trend in the healthcare industry is the growing prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) research and applications. Innovations in robotic process automation, manual task automation, and deep learning have all opened the door to robust applications within the healthcare sector. Pharmaceutical companies are driving the adoption of these technologies through proactive strategic positioning, with expectations that they will reshape the entire industry.

In 2018, the number of deals and equity financings for AI startups in healthcare steadily increased, reaching a historic high. Healthcare has become the largest sector for AI-related transaction activity. Currently, there are hundreds of AI projects related to healthcare on the market, and this number is expected to continue growing in 2019.

Google’s DeepMind plans to launch a clinical trial in 2019 to test an AI-powered product for diagnosing eye diseases; Apple has also invested in its ResearchKit and CareKit software frameworks, which leverage machine learning to provide medical researchers with more robust and meaningful data; BeyondVerbal is another AI engine that is researching voice patterns for diagnosing chronic diseases via telephone.

The five major trends outlined above are, in the author’s view, the most significant; yet they merely scratch the surface. It is insufficient to study emerging technologies alone. We must not only understand current trends in technological innovation but also examine the potential challenges these technologies need to address.

Healthcare professionals and investors must closely monitor these trends, as well as developments in the coming year and beyond. As patient care continues to improve, investors need a deep understanding of the transformation in healthcare services to determine whether emerging technologies are truly essential solutions, merely complementary enhancements, or just theoretical concepts with no practical value.