In short, digital health products help healthcare providers, patients, and other healthcare settings to improve services in terms of time & quality as well as cutting down costs. I believe several trends will continue to encourage even greater demand for digital capabilities in the healthcare industry in 2022. Here are three trends, as well as two Scandinavian companies that you should keep an eye on this year.
HealthTech Industry - The new place to be for Developers?
As huge investments are being made into the Health Tech/MedTech industry, we've seen a trend in that some of the best and brightest developers will transition from the "traditional tech" market and begin building breakthrough innovation in the health tech space. As these innovations are in their early stages, many driven and talented developers see this market as an interesting challenge to build something and to contribute their skills in new ways.
Huge spike in VC funding
2021 was the year of venture capital funding and this was no exception for the digital health industry. The past year turned digital health from a niche sector to a mainstream market. According to a report written by Rockhealth, 2021 was the year that quickened the pace of digital health investments, and you can expect more of the same in 2022 due to the demand for connected health data and technologies. In the new way of living, our society demands greater control of their health and consumers are in search of cutting-edge technology - therefore, digital health innovation is hotter than ever before.
Easier access to healthcare
The pandemic brought a "new" digital era that has taught us new ways of living. Staying connected with family, increasing remote working and attending virtual meetings is the new normal. We no longer require in-person meetings every time and this is no exception for the health care industry. There was a massive increase in virtual care in 2021, reportedly 38 times higher compared to the pre-covid baseline. 2022 will become the year when we can predict increased use of telehealth apps and subsequently a supporting health data infrastructure to maintain this trend.
Game changers on the Scandinavian market
That being said, I wanted to highlight two companies that I've kept my eye on from the European and Scandinavian markets - well worth a read and keeping them on your radar..
Acorai: https://www.acorai.com/
The Acorai Heart Monitor can help healthcare professionals stabilize patients with heart failure sooner. It's a non-invasive and cost-efficient solution that can transform the way we manage heart failure today.
They want to make monitoring for heart failure simpler, more accurate, and more affordable. It would create an earlier diagnosis for a disease that touches us all, directly or indirectly, and lead to earlier treatment and increased chances of survival.
Radiobotics is an award-winning Danish startup company with a focus on developing algorithms for hospitals to automate the reading of X-rays of bone and joints. Since incorporation in 2017, Radiobotics has experienced strong traction, having raised a total of $4m to date, grown the team and having the first product CE-marked and FDA-cleared.
Today there is a massive lack of radiologists available, meaning patients aren’t getting their diagnosis from their X-ray in time and with a high risk of misdiagnosis. Radiobotics have solved this problem by developing robust and clinically validated algorithms for MSK radiology that can increase throughput by automating the analysis and reporting on routine X-rays - a game changer if you ask me.
The conclusion...
The pandemic and patient demand have created a perfect storm for digital health growth in the past years, and looking back the performance does suggest there is a very strong future for the digital health space. Everything is pointing towards further innovation by digital health companies to create an environment of collaboration between healthcare providers and patients. Truly exciting times are ahead for all in this industry.
