We have reached an inflection point for the adoption of tools such as natural language processing (NLP) that help organizations manage large sets of unstructured data. One factor driving demand for such technologies is the pending Patient Access rule deadline requiring the interoperability of full-text medical records. Payers particularly recognize that they will soon be flooded with unstructured data that must be managed to effectively inform patient care, meet value-based care goals, and drive predictive algorithms that improve outcomes. The growing presence of big tech and cloud vendors in the text analytics space has also raised overall awareness about these tools, which are increasingly available for easy and convenient consumption through cloud-based approaches instead of large-scale software deployments. Finally, the pandemic has impacted healthcare in many ways, including increased acceptance and demand for cloud-based technologies, which have enabled users to access and manage data remotely.

COVID-19 accomplished what entrepreneurs, doctors, and activists couldn't: Designing a healthcare system that works for patients instead of providers and health insurance companies. The industry promised to be "patient-centered" for the last decade but only the harsh demands of COVID-19 have made this a reality. As Ian McCrae, CEO of Orion Health, described it, COVID-19 is ushering in the long-overdue transformation of the healthcare system and, finally, a move to "patient-centric" health. "There will be a dramatic shift in health IT spend away from large, monolithic hospital upgrades, towards digital front doors into healthcare," McCrae said. This means better data sharing, a universal rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine, operationalized machine learning, and more options for mental healthcare.

Technology is ever-changing, and with every new decade it accelerates at a pace that is often difficult for us humans to keep up with. We now live in a world in which we rely heavily on technology on a daily basis, regardless of which field we belong to. However, few industries have been changed by technology as much, or as positively, as healthcare. Although the healthcare industry has often lagged behind others when it comes to deploying advanced technology, new discoveries and improvements are always being made. The technology that we know today has opened countless doors and opportunities to improve our lives, and it's almost impossible to imagine life without it now.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, is exploring many avenues to plunge deeper into healthcare including becoming an insurance company and developing artificial intelligence and machine learning-based medical tools.If the company succeeds at even a few of those initiatives, it stands to shape new AI-based models in healthcare, according to CB Insights, which analyzes data on venture capital and startups."Existing Alphabet is not the only consumer tech company making inroads into healthcare. Apple and Amazon have taken big steps into the industry, with Apple's patient data-aggregating Health app and

Technology presents huge opportunities and challenges for our health and care system. Shipments of the activity tracking wearable Fitbit are up 25.4% this year, signalling more and more of us want insights into our exercise, eating, weight and sleeping patterns. As we begin to generate our own health data, our relationship with our bodies will change, and the way we understand and seek healthcare will be transformed. "Some of my patients will share outputs from their wearable ... when it comes to their yearly reviews. But this is the exception, rather than the rule at present," says Dr Junaid Bajwa, director of healthcare services, Merck (MSD).