Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Providers

The patient experience is more efficient, accessible, and patient-centered. Communication between patients and providers is timely and clear. Healthcare services are more convenient and accessible. Emerging technologies are contemporary advances and innovations that are novel and whose practical applications have yet to be fully realized.  

There are many such technologies that have contributed to these advances and have the potential for continuing to advance healthcare in the future.  

Emerging Technologies in Healthcare 

According to consulting firm EHR Concepts, the top 10 emerging technologies in healthcare in 2023 are artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IOT), telemedicine, big data and analytics, immersive technology, mobile health (mHealth), 3D printing, blockchain, cloud computing, and genomics.  

Three emerging technologies that have been regarded as highly influential in healthcare are AI, IOT, and blockchain. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

Artificial intelligence is a field that combines computer sciences and robust datasets to enable problem-solving. Examples of AI in healthcare include diagnostic imaging technology, robot-assisted surgical procedures, and use in precision medicine to tailor treatments to individual patients.  

The impact for AI in healthcare includes improving population health management and operations, and strengthening innovation through transforming care delivery, chronic care management, self-care prevention and wellness, triage and diagnosis, diagnostics, and clinical decision support. 

AI can assist with workforce shortages by providing automation of tasks that will reduce time for providers. Organizations should consider the impact of emerging technologies on healthcare providers. AI can improve the patient-clinical relationship by providing personalized data, which allows physicians to engage patients in shared decision making. Proponents of AI believe that it could reduce the need for clinicians and lead to more automized care. 

The Internet of Things (IOT) 

The Internet of things describes the network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet. Examples of IOT in healthcare include applications that transmit patient data, such as continuous blood glucose monitoring, technologies that treat sleep apnea, and transmitting patient vitals from the ambulance to the hospital.  

The impact for IOT in healthcare includes remote monitoring of patients to provide evidence-based decision making and provision of virtual care via telehealth technologies to improve accessibility of healthcare services. By 2026, there will be approximately one trillion IOT devices in use. This will provide a vast amount of data that organizations can use to make informed decisions and gain a competitive advantage.  

IOT in healthcare can assist physicians in making better clinical decisions. IOT devices such as medical sensors can provide physicians with data to assist them in making more informed medical decisions and providing better care. 

Blockchain 

Blockchain is a type of shared database that allows transparent information sharing within a business network. Examples of blockchain in healthcare include patient-centered electronic health records (EHRs), keeping medical data safe and secure, and genomic research.  

The impact for blockchain in healthcare includes immediately secure transactions with a vast amount of measurable proof for patients, providers, and payors; and the ability for healthcare facilities to decrease liabilities with digital identity solutions when patients hold their own identity. Blockchain technology applications in healthcare allow physicians to access all available information at any given moment in a safe, convenient, and transparent manner that allows them to devote more time to treating patients.   

There is immense value in the data provided through these technologies, and organizations should develop a strategy for implementation and use of emerging technologies. This should include defining the data governance structure and framework for aggregating and using data, and a hiring strategy for who can support the data strategy. Leadership should promote cultural change to ensure that data-driven decision making is a shared strategy throughout the organization.  

Lesley Clack, ScD, CPH, is an associate professor and department chair of health sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University.