10 healthcare technology trends for 2023

Staffing is healthcare leaders’ top concern, according to the Philips Future Health Index 2022 report. If we don’t act urgently, burnout and staffing shortages will continue to weaken healthcare systems. For example, in radiology, studies have shown at least half of practicing radiologists in the US experience chronic work-related exhaustion and reduced efficacy¹. In nursing, we can expect an estimated global shortfall of 13 million nurses by 2030². Compounding the stress and strain, healthcare professionals now face a backlog of routine treatments set aside during the pandemic. Given these workforce challenges, we will see healthcare providers leverage automation, enabled by AI, to increase efficiencies and augment the capabilities of staff.

For example, radiology departments can increase productivity with healthcare technology that leverages AI to enable faster scan times with higher resolution in imaging modalities like MR, even with patients who are in pain or struggle to hold their breath during an exam. As a result, radiology departments can scan more patients in a day while supporting diagnostic confidence and improving the patient experience at the same time. Similarly, AI can improve productivity and reduce intra-user variability in ultrasound use, with automatic measurements that save the healthcare professional tedious manual work while keeping them in control of diagnostic decision-making.

Workflow automation can go a long way toward alleviating the burden on overstretched hospital departments. But healthcare professionals also need appropriate training and education to keep up with technological advances. With 1 in 5 healthcare professionals having left the field since the pandemic began³, adequately training new staff is especially critical to ensure continuity, safety and quality of care delivery.

The years ahead will therefore see a growing demand for ‘education as a service’, supporting ongoing education and continuous learning as the pace of digital transformation in healthcare further accelerates. In addition, hospitals can drive proficient use of new and existing technologies by appointing ‘super users’ who act as early adopters and ambassadors that other staff members can turn to when they have questions or need help.

Another way of empowering staff through technology is by enabling remote guidance from more experienced colleagues using virtual collaboration. It’s one of many healthcare technology trends that was accelerated by the pandemic, and it’s now becoming a mainstay as qualified and experienced staff are in increasingly short supply – especially in smaller satellite locations.

For example, in medical imaging, we continue to see increased adoption of radiology operations command centers that connect experienced imaging experts in a central site with technologists at peripheral scan locations. This hub-and-spoke model enables virtual over-the-shoulder support while the patient is on the scanner table, thereby supporting less experienced staff to get images right the first time. Not only does this help to standardize image quality and maintain operational continuity, but it can also make advanced imaging, such as MR and CT, accessible at more sites closer to where patients live. Similarly, real-time virtual collaboration in ultrasound can extend the reach of specialist care to enhance patient and staff experiences, improve workflow efficiencies, and drive better patient outcomes across different locations.

As healthcare becomes increasingly connected, different systems and devices need to be able to ‘speak’ to each other to create seamless experiences for patients and healthcare professionals. Hospitals typically procure equipment and devices from many different vendors, which has often resulted in fragmented digital infrastructure – and as a result, fragmented healthcare experiences. To help overcome this fragmentation, we expect to see increased adoption of vendor-neutral and interoperable informatics solutions in 2023 and beyond.

For example, what makes the concept of a centralized radiology operations command center so powerful is not only that it can distribute expertise across sites (see trend #3), but also that it can connect to imaging equipment from multiple vendors. That means radiology departments can orchestrate and standardize imaging operations across sites, irrespective of the brand and type of equipment that has been installed. Similarly, vendor-neutral real-time data analytics and radiology workflow solutions can help improve operational performance and reduce costs in radiology departments, while supporting continuous optimization.

The cloud is another critical technological enabler for creating truly connected and integrated IT infrastructures in healthcare. Such infrastructures need to be highly secure and highly scalable, allowing healthcare providers to rapidly adapt to fluctuating demand without having to worry about data security. Cloud adoption in healthcare has traditionally lagged behind. However, in recent years we have seen fast-growing acceptance and adoption in many parts of the world – a trend we expect to continue in 2023. In tandem, we will see a further proliferation of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions delivered through the cloud.

For example, in cancer care, cloud-based SaaS solutions can help generate a unified and longitudinal patient view by pulling together data from different hospital systems, thereby supporting in-person or virtual tumor board meetings for collaborative decision-making. Cancer care teams also get to benefit from recommendations for specific therapies or clinical trials, tailored to the patient’s characteristics. As new clinical knowledge is gathered, new software updates can be deployed through the cloud to cancer care teams worldwide – putting up-to-date best practices at their fingertips.

The further adoption of cloud-based digital solutions in healthcare will also support increased data sharing across care settings, creating the foundation for a more distributed healthcare system that connects the hospital to the home and the community. As the Philips Future Health Index 2022 report revealed, healthcare leaders now view extending care delivery beyond the hospital as their biggest priority, after staff satisfaction and retention. Offering the right care in the right place at the right moment will be critical in supporting a seamless patient experience.

Within the hospital, clinical surveillance technologies can provide timely insights into a patient’s status across care settings, generating actionable insights based on live-streaming data. Coupled with predictive analytics, this will help caregivers move from reacting to adverse events that have already occurred, to proactively addressing impending, potentially life-threatening events.

While COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital healthcare technology – increasing care access, especially for people in remote and rural areas – the pandemic also disproportionally impacted vulnerable people and worsened global health gaps. Existing health disparities within and among nations, such as higher rates of poor health and disease among certain racial and ethnic minority groups⁴, are in ever sharper focus. This has prompted a global call to respond to systemic inequalities⁵. According to the Philips Future Health Index 2022 report, US health leaders are making healthcare equality a top priority.

Emerging technologies, such as remote high-risk pregnancy monitoring solutions and mobile ultrasound with AI support, hold great promise for closing care gaps in maternal and child health. Innovative mobile health technology solutions offer new ways to bring critical care closer to more patients. Mobile screening solutions can detect life-threatening diseases – like lung cancer – sooner in people who otherwise may not have had access.

Going forward, socially conscious companies could play a significant role – as health technology innovators and financing partners – in building more equitable health systems. Platforms like the Digital Connected Care Coalition link public and private organizations to help fast-track digital health projects in low- and middle-income countries, and private-sector companies can help mobilize funding for healthcare projects in low-resource settings by partnering on impact investments with organizations like the Health Finance Coalition.

The combined burden of growing, aging populations and the rising incidence of chronic disease has created a huge need for sustainable models of care, which has been compounded by the energy crisis. Paradoxically, the world’s healthcare systems account for 4% of global CO₂ emissions⁶, more than the aviation or shipping industries, while also generating excessive levels of waste. Sustainability-minded health leaders are increasingly looking to healthcare technology to help them break out of this destructive cycle.

In healthcare technology, ‘circular’ is widely associated with closing the loop on hardware. But the adoption of smart digital tools is also enabling health systems to ‘dematerialize’, delivering maximum value with minimum resources. For example, by supporting the shift from resource-intensive clinical facilities to networked lower-cost settings and the home. And the trend towards cloud-, service- and software-based solutions will save on the materials needed for on-site enterprise hardware and reduce CO₂ emissions, while further optimizing efficiency.

Similarly, usage- and outcome-based business models enable hospitals to access a system’s functionality ‘as a service’, without significant upfront capital expenditure, and support multiple reuse and recycling. What matters to hospitals is to be able to offer patients the best possible imaging and analytics to support precision diagnosis and personalized treatment – not owning scanner X, Y or Z.

Hospitals have the highest energy intensity of all publicly funded buildings⁷. Health leaders acknowledge the health implications of carbon-driven climate change and the industry’s responsibility to take action. In the words of Albert Einstein, “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.”

So what can health systems and healthcare technology providers do now to reduce their carbon footprint? There is a clear trend to ‘follow the science’. The state of California, for example, has announced that all USD 1 billion-plus companies must have science-based carbon reduction targets by 2025. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) enables organizations to set targets that show how much and how fast they need to reduce their emissions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. By early 2022, more than 2,200 companies, covering over a third of the global economy’s market capitalization, were working with SBTi. Targets addressing Scope 3 emissions are especially important, as responsible sourcing of goods and services has a positive effect across the healthcare value chain.

Regarding the action healthcare companies are taking to achieve their targets, we are seeing a clear trend toward reduced direct power consumption through more energy-efficient healthcare technology. And toward reduced indirect emissions through sustainable use of resources and circular economy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rising temperatures and CO₂ levels, extreme weather events and other climate impacts affect a wide range of human health outcomes. In 2015, the Lancet Commission stated, “Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.” This potential is widely recognized by health professionals, as is the crucial role sustainable healthcare technology plays in achieving long-term health goals.

We are seeing a trend of health systems adopting diverse strategies to reduce their environmental footprint. Many organizations are driving progress on science-based targets for emission reduction, yet according to the report Now for Nature: The Decade of Delivery from the environmental non-profit disclosure organization CDP, they are often failing to act on their broader environmental impacts, such as biodiversity loss⁸.