Commentary
MEET THE TECHNOLOGY REGION: A MATURING OF TRENDS
The Technology Region always brings innovative players to the tournament who are willing to try something new to secure the win. The trends in this region have the capacity to enable, accelerate, or hinder industry progress. Therefore, it’s surprising that this region emerges as the most experienced region in the 2024 tournament, with two all-star players that have competed every year, five that are making repeat appearances, and just one newcomer.
Surprisingly, this region emerges as the most experienced region in the 2024 tournament.
In a region known for innovation and novelty, it’s interesting that the 2024 technology trends reflect less relative change and upheaval over last year than the other three regions.
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THE EIGHT TRENDS AND THE FIRST FOUR MATCHUPS
Growing GenAI in Care Delivery vs. Expansion of Self-Care
The top seed, Growing GenAI in Care Delivery, brings back artificial intelligence for a fourth year in the tournament, making it one of the tournament all-stars. The investment in and deployment of generative artificial intelligence in healthcare cannot be overestimated and is expected to make a demonstrable impact on care delivery decisions in 2024. In the Round of 32, it’s paired up with eight-seed Expansion of Self-Care, which, interestingly, continues to depend on AI in the development of symptom checkers, at-home diagnostics, asynchronous care and other solutions that enable more patients to self-diagnose and treat common conditions.
Consolidation of Digital Health vs. Personalization of Medicine
The next matchup brings together two returning players: Consolidation of Digital Health (2) and Personalization of Medicine (7). The rapid expansion of digital health point solutions in previous years led to an oversaturated market, and we’re now seeing many smaller players merge into larger ones. This trend goes up against the advances expected from personalized medicine, as providers partner with technology/wearables companies (like Apple) to study disease detection and prevention to personalize treatment protocols.
Regulatory Impact on Data Security vs. Real Impact of Price Transparency
Regulatory Impact on Data Security (3) goes up against Real Impact of Price Transparency (6), the other all-star four-time player in this region. The economic and reputational threats from cyber ransom and data vulnerability continue to grow, and new regulations to drive improvements in this area represent a new responsibility for the industry. Meanwhile, the industry also faces a new era of price transparency that is empowering consumers in an unprecedented way, advancing beyond aspirational influence and finally bearing fruit toward cost reduction.
Greater Interoperability of Tech and Data vs. Commoditization of Telehealth
The last first-round contest in this region is between four-seed Greater Interoperability of Tech and Data and five-seed Commoditization of Telehealth. Pundits predict breakthroughs in how data is ingested, exchanged, and delivered from digital platforms to patient care for improved interoperability – but will that impact healthcare more than the expectation that telehealth providers will be unable to differentiate dramatically and therefore succumb to commoditization?
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Read about the trends in the other three regions: Healthcare Landscape, Delivery, and Payment.
What trends do you think are leading the pack?
Join the conversation on LinkedIn and make your predictions by March 13.