Interest in technology and its possible uses in healthcare has never been higher. Investors put a record amount into healthcare related tech in the first half of 2019, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The total amount of investment equaled $5.1 billion across 318 deals.
Here is a closer look at the areas that healthcare investors have taken the most interest in funding.
Digital Mental Health
Mental health and wellness companies raised $321 million in venture capital through 26 deals in the second quarter of 2019 alone, according to a research report from CB Insights. That’s up from $227 million during the same time in 2018.
The term “digital mental health” covers a wide range of tech-based therapeutic tools, including engaging with patients via communication tools or using artificial intelligence such as Woebot that can engage with patients and offer guidance based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Voice Tech
Voice tech is huge outside of healthcare, with 53 million people using some type of smart speaker such as Amazon Echo or Google Home. Gartner projects that in the near future, about 30% of all web searches will be done via voice.
In healthcare, voice tech can be used for everything from improving physician notes to interacting with patients about prescriptions. Voice also can be used as a diagnostic tool as factors such as speech rate, pitch and word repetition can serve as biomarkers. As natural language processing improves, the implementation of voice technology in healthcare is expected to grow significantly.
Personalized Healthcare Through Data
Advances in data analysis now allow healthcare companies to take data from a patient and compare it to data from larger patient populations, giving clinicians insight into the best treatment options for people of a similar background.
This push toward precision medicine has led to investments being made in AI-based algorithms that are used in this area of healthcare, supporting doctors in providing treatment that will work best with each individual patient.
Telehealth
Telehealth generally refers to the process of connecting with a doctor or healthcare provider remotely. It can involve text messages and video chat, for example. As noted above, it could also involve interacting with a software program.
Investment is continuing to flow into telemedicine because it solves a number of problems for patients, including the ability to make it to a doctor’s office, the costs of the visit and the time wasted sitting in the doctor’s office. In some cases, the help needed can be provided remotely. Some of the biggest U.S. telemedicine companies, according to Crunchbase, include:
- Doctor on Demand
- HealthTap
- 98point6
- Maven Clinic
- Nurx
Healthcare Retail and Consumerism
Many people simply use health clinics when they have an issue, meaning that these clinics can implement tech solutions much in the way they are done by retail outlets. At a conference on tech and healthcare, those who work with retail health clinics said they are looking for ways to use tech to better connect with customers, including apps that can offer health coaching as well as telemedicine options and finding virtual means of connecting with pharmacies.
Tech to Support Cost Reduction
Experts in technology and healthcare do not believe there is one disruptive technology that is going to become adopted by all healthcare operations, much in the way Amazon has been adopted by shoppers worldwide. Rather, healthcare operations will search for the technology that works best for them and their patients. However, innovations in technology will emerge as the best way to contain healthcare costs, according to Forbes.
For example, Forbes reported that Oak HC/FT is looking to find a technology that can help reduce the social determinants of health, such as lack of nutrition, housing and transportation. Health admissions could be reduced by using data to identify these issues earlier and finding ways to support people in finding proper medical care.
Technology innovation is so widespread that there are many ways it can come into play in the healthcare industry. Investor interest in these six areas shows that they are among the best bets to grow in the coming years.
