5 Innovative Ideas Changing Healthcare in 2018

With technological change and advancement happening faster than ever, it’s no surprise that how we do business is changing at every level, including how business is done with regard to the healthcare industry.

Beyond the medical science that is such a crucial part of saving lives, innovation at even the paperwork stage can make a radical impact on taking strides towards affordable and accessible healthcare for all.

Here are a few of the big ideas changing the healthcare game in 2018:

 

New Corporate Partnerships

It seems like almost daily, a new partnership or venture is announced between tech monoliths and health insurance providers. We’ve shared about Amazon’s partnership with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway and Google’s investment in Oscar.

Another major headline this year saw drugstore chain CVS acquiring health insurance provider Aetna.

Most of these new partnerships have one goal in common: eliminating middle men and streamlining the care provision process to cut increasingly skyrocketing prices.

It’s notable how many of the company names throwing their hats in the health insurance ring are tech-based. Corporate disruption is tied to the technology that allows health care to do what it has never done before.

 

Individualized Treatment

One of the major ways that technology is changing (and will continue to change) healthcare is through providing more individualized treatment.

Smart sensors allow for things like smart inhalers, cancer treatment based on individual genetic makeups and personalized rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

All of these developing treatment options eschew the one-size-fits-all model of treating diagnoses to be more effective and timely.

When treatment is both more successful (due to personalization) and quicker, the cost impact is guaranteed to start looking different. So is the relationship between hospitals and health insurance providers, who will quickly need to find ways to navigate billing on a more case-by-case basis.

 

Telemedicine

One of the biggest trends in healthcare is telemedicine. Telemedicine allows patients to receive consultations (or even prescriptions in some states) without needing to sit down with anyone face to face. Some estimates place the growing worth of this industry at $19.5 billion by 2025. 

But beyond the increasing ability healthcare providers offer to talk to a practitioner digitally before making the trip to the ER, telemedicine is also streamlining things like making appointments and paying bills.

As more and more is possible digitally, the only patients who will go to the hospital will be those who truly need it.

 

Big Data

Another element that makes it clear why companies like Google and Amazon would be getting involved with healthcare is the usefulness of big data. Both companies have a long history of utilizing detailed consumer data for endless applications.

The same thing is being done increasingly in healthcare. What that looks like for the health industry is that medical records, test results and research are changing the financial and practical choices healthcare providers are making. 

The biggest benefit that comes from strategic levering of constructed databases comes in at the patient level. Patients will benefit from better diagnostic accuracy and better management when the amount of information available is fully integrated into the system.

 

AI

Artificial Intelligence is a favorite tech topic of Hollywood thrillers and dystopian literature. But beyond the sci-fi industry’s take on the topic, AI has very real applications for our healthcare industry today.

We know that AI can be instrumental in sifting through data to retrieve the most crucial information. We talked about big data above. AI is crucial part of aggregating and sorting that data in a way that actually provides applications.

Additionally, AI has the potential to radically impact treatment itself. The opportunities for neurological treatment that partners with a patient’s brain, or analyzing scan and imaging results to a much higher degree of accuracy, are truly endless. 

A lot of these developing technologies and changes are in line with what we already are proving works: individualized, concierge style care. Removal of bloated health insurers who pay out exorbitant fees without examining the data.

If you want a revolution in how you’re providing healthcare to your employees, we can start one with you now. Contact Captiva Benefit Solutions for true health benefits innovation.

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