Tech Trends: Race to Interoperability

Healthcare is an industry lagging behind in its adoption of technology, so opportunities abound to improve patient outcomes and accessibility to healthcare amid caregiver labor shortages and the rising cost of care in Europe and the U.S. One method is complete data sharing between patients' doctors and care locations (i.e. "A patient's doctors and patients themselves should be able to easily access secure data that is privacy-compliant across care locations." Another lever is to move chronic patients from emergency care, which is extremely expensive, to preventative care, which is more affordable, Bui said. One example is healthcare technology that helps diabetic patients by continuously monitoring their glucose levels, warning them when levels are too high and scheduling doctors' appointments and follow-up when necessary. Other avenues include artificial intelligence (AI)-backed symptom checkers and gamified apps for patient engagement or chatbots providing tools for psychological support, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.