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
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: WEF’s Top 10 Innovations for 2014: How May These Impact the Future of Healthcare?
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 Innovations > WEF’s Top 10 Innovations for 2014: How May These Impact the Future of Healthcare?
eHealthMedical InnovationsMobile HealthNews

WEF’s Top 10 Innovations for 2014: How May These Impact the Future of Healthcare?

Patti Doherty
Patti Doherty
Share
3 Min Read
WEC healthcare
SHARE

WEC healthcareThe World Economic Forum (WEF) recently issued its predictions for the top 10 emerging technological innovations.

WEC healthcareThe World Economic Forum (WEF) recently issued its predictions for the top 10 emerging technological innovations. At least three of these apply directly to healthcare and have been in the sights of the Popper and Company team and our clients. And even the innovations highlighted by WEF that aren’t immediately relevant to a healthcare issue might end up contributing to medical advances.

The three Forum predictions tied to healthcare include:

  • the growth and acceptance of tiny wearable sensors that could transmit a wealth of information from the body to a healthcare provider and may even help blind people walk unassisted,
  • the flourishing of predictive analytics that result in a “quantified self” in which our personal data can be collected to improve our health, and
  • the development of therapeutics from RNA and the newly mapped microbiome.

At Popper and Company, we have followed the trends affecting all three of these technologies for several years, advising our clients on the technology’s impact on their innovations and strategies. While these innovations have direct implications for healthcare, it’s important to note that many advances succeed because they were successfully adapted from other industries. Surgeons are now using Google glasses, for example, to call up data and records during an operation.

More Read

Presentation on Meaningful Use and EMR in Research
5 Health Benefits of Cycling Worth Talking About
How Correctional Facilities Are ‘Walking the Line’ Toward Healthcare Cost Improvement
Michigan Health Information Exchange (HIE) Invests in Secure Network
Patient Engagement and Health IT: Disillusionment Sets In, Poll Shows

At Popper, we have seen and written about how well inventions in one field can serve another:

  • Hand washing is an obvious and crucial part of any healthcare facility, yet this simple task is too often ignored by practitioners. In a previous post, I pointed out that Purell liquid handwashing gel was not originally intended for healthcare. But it didn’t become a successful product until its focus shifted.
  • Popper and Company’s Stephanie Kreml discussed the importance of knowing what frame you are working in, and being able to shift that frame to allow innovation. Technology from the petroleum industry, for example, has become useful for cardiovascular surgeons.
  • Finally, Ken Walz, partner and co-founder of Popper and Company, has stressed the need for a strong sense of “knowing where you are” when forming a strategy for your new business, and the equally important need for business partners, often in industries unrelated to healthcare innovation.

It will be interesting to see how these (and other) “Top 10” innovations will play out over the year, and in the future. Perhaps they will diverge into another industry. Perhaps developments like microbiome or RNA therapy will not do any better than many other pharmaceutical compounds in development. And the most important “perhaps” — developments like more powerful batteries or screenless video – could transform health in as-yet unseen ways.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

Change Management Is Crucial For Successful EHR Implementations

May 29, 2012

Doctor’s Office of the Future Meets Office of the Past

November 26, 2013

3 Keys to Designing a Life-Changing Mobile Health Device

March 15, 2012

Online Reputation Management for Physicians: Putting Your Best Cyber-Foot Forward

July 18, 2012
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?