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SOUTH JORDAN, Utah – AdvancedMD, a provider of cloud-based health care software for independent medical practices, today announced the top six healthcare technology trends that will have the biggest impact on the healthcare industry in 2024. Based on insights and anonymous, aggregated data from the more than 40,000 practitioners that subscribe to AdvancedMD, this year’s trends include everything from generative AI’s impact on ambulatory care providers and small, privately owned medical offices to the pivotal role of robotic process automation (RPA) within EHR solutions, along with the continued expansion of telehealth capabilities.
“The innovations happening across the health care technology space are mind-blowing. I’ve been in this industry for decades and have never been more excited about the advancements we’re seeing. Every single aspect of healthcare will be impacted—and improved. Clinical and diagnostic processes, back-office workflows, patient engagement and billing capabilities will all see major enhancements,” said Amanda Hansen, President, AdvancedMD. “The integration of AI, generative AI, and IoT is ushering in a truly new era of healthcare technology. Private practices will be able to provide more equitable care to all patient populations, care delivery models will be more effective and provide better outcomes, payors and vendors will have more seamless workflows that improve the overall healthcare experience. Every direction you look offers so much hope.”
The Top 6 Healthcare Technology Trends for 2024:
Trend #1: Artificial intelligence, generative AI and machine learning technologies will rapidly advance everything from patient engagement capabilities to EHR functionality for ambulatory care providers, including small, privately-owned medical offices and specialty practices. The rapid advancement of generative AI, AI-powered technology, and machine learning tools will have a massive impact on healthcare technology platforms, impacting everything from patient engagement solutions to administrative processes and treatment plans. Even with limited budgets, smaller private practices will be able to automate and streamline workflow processes with the influx of AI capabilities embedded into even the most basic healthcare platforms. Larger ambulatory care providers with bigger technology budgets will have access to more sophisticated technology, delivering multiple innovations that will impact treatment plans, patient outcomes, healthcare costs, and more.
Trend #2: Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a segment of AI and machine learning tools, will play an especially pivotal role in EHR technology. RPA models that enable sophisticated automation capabilities across complex administrative processes will drastically reduce the time it takes to complete tedious but necessary tasks related to EHR systems. As RPA is adopted by more EHR solutions, things like claim scrubbing and eligibility verification will take dramatically less time and come with fewer errors because of the efficiencies provided by the technology. Overall patient care will improve as a result with healthcare providers able to focus on treatment plans and patient outcomes versus paperwork.
Trend #3: Patient engagement tools will become more intuitive and user-friendly, giving patients more control over their healthcare experience, enabling them to be more proactive with their healthcare programs. The explosion of innovation happening across the healthcare technology space will have a major impact on patient engagement tools, shifting the entire patient experience to be more patient-centric. Enhanced patient communication tools, self-scheduling features, and improved UX will lead to patients having greater control over the care they receive and their participation within the patient experience. These advancements will lead to more trust between healthcare providers and their patients, higher patient satisfaction scores, and improved patient outcomes.
Trend #4: The extraordinary advancements happening across the health care technology space will generate more collaborative processes between payors and technology vendors, leading to an improved patient experience. In the coming year, the healthcare industry will see more streamlined, collaborative processes between payors and technology platforms due to the remarkable advancements happening across the technological space. These advancements are enabling greater integration across the healthcare space, creating more streamlined workflows for the technology vendors that support payor processes. The ultimate benefit for healthcare providers is a frictionless technological ecosystem where payor policies and guidelines are built into the very platforms used to submit, review, and approve claims and manage the overall billing processes—creating more transparent workflows that improve the patient experience.
Trend #5: Telehealth services will continue to expand at an accelerated pace as healthcare providers use technology to create a more equitable health care landscape. After its explosion in 2020, telehealth has continued to be an integral part of the healthcare experience, offering patients more flexibility to meet with their healthcare providers. Its popularity will only grow based on a number of factors. To start, telehealth technology platforms are becoming more affordable for smaller private practices with limited technology budgets. Rich managerial features allow practices to deploy a robust telehealth model with minimal overhead and expense. The aging patient population, in addition to the continued expansion of behavioral health services within primary care practices, is also contributing to increased telehealth adoption rates. Another major catalyst: As part of its 2023 initiatives, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pushed for more equitable healthcare systems. Because it allows physicians to meet with any patient regardless of their geographic location, telehealth is a primary driver of a more equitable healthcare landscape. As the healthcare industry leans further into equity initiatives, telehealth platforms will become even more ubiquitous.
Trend #6: The exponential growth of IoT (Internet of Things) integration into health care technology platforms and apps will supercharge interoperability across health care systems and networks, improving everything from patient outcomes to payment processes. Interoperability continues to be a pivotal challenge for the healthcare industry, but the exponential growth of IoT capabilities and integrations will drive more interoperable capabilities across the healthcare environment. On a wide scale, aggregate level, greater access to large-scale data warehouses and predictive analytic models will help drive vastly improved patient outcomes. On a more granular level, healthcare providers with more visibility into patient histories and previous treatment programs will be able to design more impactful care initiatives. Cleaner data, increased integration, and more affordable technology will help expedite the value of IoT within the healthcare industry.
