By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    narrow-road-ahead-sign
    Narrow Networks in California?
    March 24, 2016
    Insurer Has E-Security Problem
    August 26, 2017
    What Kind of Inequality Matters to You?
    October 19, 2011
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Healthcare Innovator’s Guide to Tech Terms for Next Decade of Medicine
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Devices > Healthcare Innovator’s Guide to Tech Terms for Next Decade of Medicine
Medical DevicesMedical InnovationsTechnology

Healthcare Innovator’s Guide to Tech Terms for Next Decade of Medicine

Deanna Pogorelc
Deanna Pogorelc
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

artificial intelligence AIOriginally published on MedCityNews.com. Electronic medical records. DNA sequencing. Big data. These technology trends are changing the way medicine is practiced today — but what’s coming next?

artificial intelligence AIOriginally published on MedCityNews.com. Electronic medical records. DNA sequencing. Big data. These technology trends are changing the way medicine is practiced today — but what’s coming next?

I scoured the web, reached out to futurists and drew from past conversations with industry leaders to compile a list of the next generation of disruptive technologies that are on the brink of breaking through in healthcare. What’s missing from this list?

Artificial intelligence/algorithm medicine

More Read

Microsoft Kinect Effect–Sensors Everywhere Including the Hospital OR- Video
Dispatches from the 2014 American Telemedicine Association Conference
Onsite Detection of Malaria Could Be Possible with a Battery-Operated Device
Content Marketing Can Engage Healthcare Consumers
A New Way to Manage Asthma and COPD

Predictive analytics tools that use data to help healthcare administrators identify high-risk patients and make efficient decisions are already in place in many hospitals. Now companies are developing decision support tools for clinicians that compare an individual patient’s data to large amounts of historical outcomes data.

“I would see AI as the next step beyond predictive analytics,” said eHealth blogger John Sharp. “There’s a lot of discussion around IBM Watson; I think that is AI rather than predictive modeling in the sense that Watson gathers all of the information available from medical literature and would compare that to a patient or population of patients and recommends certain treatments.”

This is being applied on a smaller scale, too. An app for heart failure patients and cardiologists is one example, and a clinical decision support system for intensive care units is another.

Internet of things

This concept takes remote patient monitoring to the next level, involving multiple connected devices that can coordinate with each other through a wireless network without human intervention. Sharp, who’s in charge of clinical informatics research at Cleveland Clinic, says hospitals have just scratched the surface of this with smart infusion pumps and RFID tagging.  “There’s potential for a lot of these things to talk to each other and raise alerts when something is out of whack, and potentially even detect infections,” he said.

Dave Evans, “chief futurist” for the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), wrote in a blog post that an internet of things could also virtualize healthcare resources.  “As more physicians retire and the population grows, (Internet of Everything) will allow us to receive health care at home and in other places where we don’t receive health care today. This extends beyond wearable technology. Connected pills, connected pill bottles, and connected labs on chips will virtualize health care and scale existing health care resources, creating more opportunities for insightful data.”

microchip-medicineMEMS

Short for micro electro mechanical systems, MEMS involves the use of miniaturized sensors, actuators and electronics that are smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Such technology has already penetrated the research market, with speedier, more precise tools for biologists and chemists. Now companies like CardioMems and MicroCHIPS are working on commercial implantable devices that can transmit data outside of the body for clinical use. However, regulation remains a big question here.

Wearable medical devices

We’re not just talking about the fitness bands you wear around your wrist. We’re talking flexible electronics — lightweight, portable sensors that could be, for example, adhered to the skin to collect biometric data. Or swallowable (not technically wearable, but it’s the same idea) smart pills that let clinicians know when patients aren’t taking their medications. The hope is that these devices could help patients and clinicians manage chronic diseases.

Much-hyped Google Glass also falls into this category. Developers have all kind of ideas for this technology, from using it to improve clinical documentation to teaching surgery.

Natural language processing

The medical scribe business is hot. But another way of easing the burden of collecting patient data – especially the kind that’s anecdotal – is also heating up. Some EHR vendors have embedded voice transcription technologies into their products, and more advanced products that give structure to unstructured data are on the way. Some say natural language processing could change the way we interact with healthcare data, the same way that Siri has changed the way people interact with their cellphones.

Medical tricorderhealthcare innovator

Nokia and XPRIZE are hunting for a medical tricorder, armed with $10 million as a reward, but this movement is much bigger than the contest. Sensors, mobile technology and at-home medicine meet in this concept, which calls for development of a portable screening device consumers could use to self-diagnose medical conditions a la Star Trek. Scanadu’s Scout is the most high-profile device under development, but there are dozens of teams across the world working toward this goal.

Precision medicine

From targeted cancer drugs to molecular diagnostics, advances in genome sequencing are driving precision medicine. It’s defined by Pfizer as “an approach to discovering and developing medicines and vaccines that deliver superior outcomes for patients, by integrating clinical and molecular information to understand the basis of disease.”

Some use precision medicine synonymously with personalized medicine. Others say it’s a better term that captures the idea of personalized medicine more clearly: Not as medical care that’s tailored to an individual but rather the ability to classify individuals into smaller populations that might be more susceptible to certain diseases or respond to drugs differently. This term has been slowly gaining steam since 2011.

Workflow automation

Time-consuming administrative tasks like medical billing, revenue cycle management and inventory management are prime targets for automating IT solutions. As more data becomes digital rather than paper-based, more opportunities open for innovation in this area to save time in hospitals and physician practices.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

digital health
BusinesseBookMedical InnovationsTechnology

10 Digital Health Mavens to Watch – And Why We Need You to Pick Yourself

September 25, 2014
patient documentation
Hospital AdministrationMedical RecordsTechnology

How to Train Your Dragon: Patient Documentation in the 21st Century

June 5, 2014

The Rise of Precision Medicine: Viable, but Challenge Lies Ahead

January 21, 2016
medical software
Technology

How Medical Spa Software Is Revolutionizing Holistic Healthcare

November 1, 2023
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?