As 2024 winds down to a close, it is a good time to look at what the future of healthcare technology looks like for the coming year. New and emerging technologies shift the healthcare sector consistently, providing its professionals with innovative solutions to improve the care for millions of patients.
The healthcare IT market is rapidly growing and changing, and it is expected to double from about $360 billion in 2024 to over $730 billion by 2029. With many digital transformations evolving within healthcare, the market continues to increase at a very fast pace. Let’s take a look at some of the predicted trends that will be shaping healthcare technology in 2025.
1. Continued growth of AI in healthcare
The biggest evolving technology that is on a lot of minds these days is artificial intelligence (AI). It has revolutionized many different industries, and is especially making itself known in the realm of healthcare. AI will continue to make certain tasks more efficient and quick, as well as provide more accuracy in patient diagnostics. With generative AI powering voice recording and predictive text technology, providers can spend more time focusing on the patient and less on documentation. 85% of healthcare leaders around the world are already investing or plan to invest in generative AI within the next three years.
As more and more organizations are investing in AI to improve patient communication, clinical decision support, and analyzing large datasets to identify health patterns, there is a growing concern of the challenges of AI within healthcare. Research nonprofit ECRI has named AI as a top technology “hazard” for healthcare in 2025. It is critical for health organizations to be aware of the risks of AI, especially when dealing with large amounts of patient data.
Bias that finds its way into the data used to train AI models can worsen existing health disparities, and using AI with a patient population that does not match with the trained data can create inaccurate results. Organizations must utilize AI in healthcare carefully and responsibly, ensuring that it improves rather than creates challenges for patient outcomes.
2. Improved care for patients at home
Telehealth services became much more popular following the COVID-19 pandemic, and have since stuck as a convenient option for at-home care. This is especially important in underserved communities as a way to improve access to care. Remote patient-monitoring is also on the rise as it provides real-time data from patients to providers from a distance in order to allow them to manage their patient’s care. It is predicted that in the next year we will see more advanced uses of AI and predictive analytics to remotely detect any health risks based on patient data. In fact, remote patient monitoring is the largest area of planned AI implementation over the next three years or so.
3. Increased demand for patient portals
More and more patients are becoming interested in utilizing patient portals and other self-serve features to manage their care and information. It is increasingly convenient to be able to make appointments, contact clinicians, and view test results all in one place. This patient digital engagement helps with more comprehensive patient care and reduced administrative tasks. It has also become known that healthcare organizations that effectively engage patients via digital tools and patient portals have the possibility of increased financial performance compared to ones that do not. These are great reasons why these organizations will continue to expand access to patient portals and digital tools in the next year.
4. Implementing image-guided technology in surgeries
Minimally invasive surgical procedures are replacing what we know as traditional open surgeries by using advanced imaging technologies. These include live 2D X-ray images, 3D ultrasound, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS), and FFR or iFR physiological flow measurements that doctors need to analyze while monitoring the patient. This new way of conducting surgery is especially useful for cardiovascular conditions as it has the potential for a faster recovery and fewer complications.
5. Improved sustainability efforts
Healthcare accounts for 4.4% of CO2 emissions, so sustainability is becoming increasingly important. AI is assisting greatly with sustainability efforts, analyzing supply chain data and identifying areas for improvement and ways to reduce waste. However, organizations are realizing that AI itself uses a lot of resources to function, so they are looking for more ways to reap the benefits of AI without increasing their carbon footprint.
These are just a few of the factors that will shape the healthcare industry for 2025. With many transformative advancements in technology, particularly in AI, there may be even more ways that organizations can improve patient care.
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