Expert Predictions For Healthcare in 2023

We’ve collected industry expert predictions on the future of healthcare in 2023.

 
With COVID showing us just how crucial the healthcare sector is, companies have been continuing to innovate in the space, using new technologies to improve access and patient care.

We asked a panel of experts to provide their predictions on what the healthcare landscape will look like in 2023.
 

Chris Tackaberry, Founder and CEO at Clinithink

 

 
“AI will Play a Greater Role in Predictive and Community Care: The predictive capacity of AI will be a game changer in healthcare, pushing the clinical intervention point even earlier, improving patient outcomes and population health. This will enable faster and more effective interventions and treatment, while significantly reducing the burden on healthcare systems’ clinical resources and budgets. 

“For example, if we take lung cancer, which is the third biggest cause of cancer death in the UK, we see that survival rates drop significantly if the disease is caught in later stages. AI supports a shift that results in earlier disease detection and diagnosis – improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.  

“Although we have seen the widespread adoption of AI in many areas, we have only scratched the surface of the technology’s potential in healthcare. The technology is already being used to find people with collections of characteristics that signal early disease, and the next step will be to use AI to predict the people most likely to be at risk and to focus screening efforts on them. Although this has been the long-standing goal of public health, the accuracy that AI enables means that providers can confidently focus in on very specific groups of people who are at highest risk, saving precious clinical time in the process.”
 

Dr Kit Latham, Co-Founder and CEO at Credentially

 

 
“2023 is going to be another incredibly tough year for the health sector, with staff strikes, limited resources and serious backlogs making the delivery of patient care ever more challenging. I predict that healthcare leaders are going to increasingly favour technology solutions that help them increase system capacity in a sustainable way, and those that support their staff to work more efficiently. 

“Workforce expansion and retention is undoubtedly going to remain a top priority in the sector, as shortages continue to cause service disruption and to push existing staff to the brink of burnout. It follows that we’ll see various new strategies deployed to accelerate the recruiting, verification and onboarding of new staff, as well as new initiatives to support clinicians to remain in their roles. In parallel with these internal strategies, healthcare providers will continue to rely heavily on workforce insourcing providers to fill workforce gaps. 

“Virtual and remote care provision is going to be a key theme of 2023, with new technologies and devices making the provision of high-quality care possible outside of a hospital setting. This will mean that patients can be discharged earlier from hospital beds and safely monitored or treated at home, reducing pressure on secondary care services.” 
 

Dr Simon Wallace, Chief Clinical Information Officer at Nuance

 

 
“During the pandemic, the use of the NHS App exploded in popularity. It was the most downloaded free application in the UK in 2021 and hit over 22 million users at the beginning of this year. The ease and speed at which this modern piece of technology became an integral part of modern medical practice has provided an accelerated boost towards a key building block for the digital future of healthcare in the UK.

“In 2023, it is likely that this person-focussed digital front door will open even wider, as hospitals and Integrated Care Systems across the country work with both the NHS and government to further develop and launch similar patient applications and portals.

“This digital front door will also extend to health accessories and at-home monitoring. Wellness and fitness trackers, for example smart watches, have become a part of everyday life for many consumers. As we move into 2023, the next step will be to utilise these accessories to modernise at-home care and improve digital practices. The data these devices gather could enable healthcare organisations to deliver improved and even personalised experiences. In other words, if utilised effectively, they could help ensure that effective healthcare is easier to access than ever before.”

 Tien Tzuo, CEO and Founder at Zuora

 

 
 “Healthcare will be a next major industry in the Subscription Economy: In 2023, expect to see more opportunities emerge for companies to create and monetize direct relationships with patients through connected devices. This past year, we saw Amazon acquire One Medical, and leaders like Apple, Google and Microsoft all have direct-to-consumer offerings to support healthcare.

“In 2023, we will see even more companies exploring healthcare-as-a-service to provide their subscribers with new offerings (think Amazon Prime for healthcare). And although access to healthcare data opens up possibilities to provide new services to subscribers, these companies must prioritize privacy and build trust over time.”
 

Dr Jason Lee, The Open Group Healthcare Forum Director

 

 
“When you listen to many discussions about the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), digital transformation data can sound like a panacea. For everything from safety in manufacturing environments, to efficiency in financial services infrastructure, to improving time-to-market for fast-moving consumer goods, we hear that “more”, “bigger”, and “smarter” technologies are the answer to business advances.

“The health benefits of enhanced adoption of 4IR technologies, most notably sharing secured health information so it is available when and where it is needed, will carry the industry forward. In addition, from robotic surgery which accelerates recovery time to AI-guided diagnostics which personalize medication recommendations, 4IR technologies will improve healthcare systems at a time when funding and skills shortages imperil the delivery of quality care to populations.

“I believe that in the coming year we will continue to see systemic pressures driving the need to adopt a more thorough-going approach which, rather than attempting piecemeal transformation, treats digitalization as a holistic solution to a wide range of problems facing the healthcare industry. The process won’t be easy—and will benefit from drawing on the skills and knowledge of Enterprise Architects to bring clarity and enriched understanding to the complexity of healthcare delivery—but the prize will be worth it.”
 

 Chris Donnelly, Co-Founder at Later Living Platform Lottie and CEO at Found

 

 
“With an ever-increasing pressure on health and social care, one of the biggest trends we’ll see over 2023 is the investment in technology. There has never been a greater need to invest in new technology across social care, as we’re now seeing with the crisis that the NHS is facing.

“The NHS has been slower to access the new technologies and treatments many private healthcare providers are able to offer. However, we’ve now reached a crisis point, and despite an increase in the number of adults receiving the flu vaccine, hospital admissions for older adults due to flu symptoms have surged by over 900% since mid-November, according to new analysis by Later Living Marketplace, Lottie.

“Technological advancements are worth the investment for care home managers, as people are living longer. Investments in care home software is an emerging trend that will boost employee retention, avoid any missed enquiries, and ensure carers have more time for compassionate care.

“Finally, our need for a diverse selection of residential, nursing and specialist care homes will increase as we get older. More complex needs require round-the-clock nursing care from staff – and this need will only become greater as the year progresses.”

Adrian Sutherland, Senior Architect at Endava

 

 
“Genomic analysis and quantum simulations will help fuel breakthroughs: The data size, low cost to capture and clinical potential of genomic data means that the systems that can analyse these data sets efficiently will become more and more important. Opportunities will progress for use cases such as cancer diagnoses based on liquid biopsies, predicting cancer progression and improving gene editing tools potential (e.g. CRISPR). As this technology takes hold, we’ll see different data united such as genomic and facial features to create AI models that can predict generic disorders from facial features alone.

“Quantum simulations also present numerous medical applications, from fast drug design (e.g. molecule/compound screening), real-time (or even faster) medical simulations (imagine “in silico” clinical trials with virtual humans) and super-fast whole genome sequencing and analytics. While 2023 is unlikely to be the breakthrough moment, ongoing research and applications in clinical simulations will push quantum simulations’ potential forwards in the real world.”
 

Roland Harvey, Enterprise Account Executive at LogicMonitor

 

 
“As we move into the new year, the NHS will become increasingly reliant on technology to deliver healthcare. Like many organisations, the NHS has suffered from legacy and outdated technology. Reconciling systems can be a real challenge and a lack of intelligent IT management tools across the board can lead to teams missing important infrastructure degradation.

“In extreme cases, poorly managed systems can actually impact patient wellbeing—especially if test results and other crucial information are not accessible and communicated in an appropriate timeframe. Performance must be visible and clear in real time, with the ability to see degradation ahead of outages to prompt teams to take action before it affects clinical applications and the patients.

“The key then, is to implement unified observability in the form of a simple dashboard which monitors performance and issues, using a traffic light system to both highlight problems and let people know all is well. It’s especially critical that this be easy to understand for laypersons—administrators and directors at NHS trusts and other NHS operations may not actually be qualified IT professionals and will need simple, intuitive ways to understand performance. This can and should also be predictive as well as reactive.”
 

Paul Christie, CEO and Co-Founder at Tachmed

 

 
“2023 is the year we will see a huge development in diagnostics and a shake up of the digital healthcare landscape. I’m a firm believer that new digital pathways and diagnostic tech will give better data to patients and healthcare professionals and will really drive innovation within primary healthcare.

“As conversations continue on making care plans in primary health services more cost effective, to ease the bottleneck and delays, digital diagnostics and hardware will really help shake this up.

“Secondly, I think the role of the non-doctor healthcare professionals will grow this year. People think they need to see a doctor for everything but there are others that have equal standing as your local GP. In 2023, nurses, administrative staff and technicians will all become more important in getting information from patients and getting them into a pathway that’s better to manage.

“Thirdly, people are going to have to get used to doing things remotely. We all accepted remote healthcare in the pandemic but with better diagnostics and better data we have got better integration of digital services, and soon you won’t have to leave your front room.

“While Covid was the catalyst for disruption, people thought everything would eventually go back to normal. There was a reluctance to keep things virtual and there’s been a rebellion to go back to the old ways, but people will have to accept it. The change that’s coming is going to be massive and this really is the moment for healthcare. It’s cataclysmic.

“Virtual healthcare offers a new reality of an improved health service, and is here to stay, so patients need to get more comfortable to exchange data in return for this. There just needs to be trust in the process. And our work at Tachmed will help towards this by incorporating virtual healthcare, soon making virtual primary care the new normal.”

Tom Cuthell, Senior Director at London Tech Week

 

 
“Supply management. A major trend in 2023 will be medtech companies being challenged to demonstrate how they will ensure continuity of supply in all circumstances. As the world becomes less predictable, healthcare systems will take less of a ‘just in time’ approach to the delivery of critical products.

“Balanced integration of telemedicine: This year will see the healthcare system embrace a hybrid model that recognises the convenience of remote consultations for many but respects the needs for real face-to-face appointments for others.

“Tech adoption across the industry: One positive to come out of the pandemic was an acceleration in the adoption of technology and digitization across the NHS and the benefits this had on patient outcomes. At a time when the country needed it most, innovation that enhanced patient care and reduced costs was embraced and this will continue to roll out over the coming 12 months.

“Reliance on AI: AI-aligned technologies, such as computer vision, natural language processing, and pattern recognition algorithms, are already deeply embedded in the healthcare ecosystem and will continue to be adopted as evidence of their usefulness grows. Some examples of areas where AI is used include drug discovery, where it can assist with predicting outcomes of clinical trials and potential side effects of new drugs, as well as analysis of medical imagery, which involves using computer vision algorithms to spot early warning signs of disease in x-rays or MRI scans.”
 

Chris Roberts, Chief Commercial Officer at Omnos

 

 
“A recent survey we conducted found almost half of people felt more aware of their health and wellbeing as a result of the pandemic and had been encouraged to make positive changes. 

“The findings support our belief that health and wellness will see a boom in 2023.

“Omnos specialises in providing an intelligent health system which uses a variety of at-home health tests to give users a more complete picture of their overall health and wellbeing. 

“We think this will prove to be a big draw for people wanting to make smart, informed decisions about their health rather than going by a ‘one size fits all’ approach. 

“Our tests are designed to empower individuals to proactively support and improve on their lifestyle choices, acting as a preventative measure against illness and aid in optimising their health.

“Whilst we are already seeing exponential growth, we expect 2023 will be a momentous year for us and for the industry in general. In the US they are starting to increase the focus on prevention and we are seeing both members of the public and professionals becoming more aware that prevention is the way forward. 

“The Omnos wellbeing platform is all about enabling people to take control of their own health. We’re currently seeing a National Health Service that is facing unprecedented demand, so we think it is more important than ever.”