We’re living in an era of unprecedented technological advancement. This development is affecting how people live in a variety of ways. The healthcare world is set to disproportionately benefit from the fruits of evolving technology. Here are six tech trends that are currently driving change in the healthcare industry.

Telehealth is Becoming More Widely Utilized

Going to a medical practitioner isn’t always within the realm of reason for patients. Many people have issues with mobility or transportation. Not to mention it can be expensive if your insurance doesn’t cover all costs. The proliferation of telehealth is helping people who otherwise can’t reasonably meet in-person with a doctor. There are myriad applications for telehealth. One specific benefit is that it reduces the incidence of cancelations or missed appointments since patients can stay at home.

Artificial Intelligence’s Administrative Revolution

AI is going to play an important role in the development of healthcare from now into the foreseeable future. There are many aspects to the healthcare world that can be improved with the help of AI implementation. Administrative tasks are one of the top areas for this development. There are still many nurses that use manual scheduling methods. This leads to massive inefficiencies in an area that’s causing big headaches for many hospitals. AI adoption will also aid in accounting, and generally streamlines workflows in all areas of healthcare.

Healthcare Analytics Is Reaching New Heights

People who work with quantifiable information know that the future lies in data. If something can be measured, it can be made more efficient. This is certainly true in the world of healthcare, which has so many moving parts—many of which have been undocumented for a long time. Improvements in healthcare analytics are going to drive a massive shift in the overall betterment of hospitals and other services. Tools such as relational search offer users unprecedented insights without needing tons of time or expertise to arrive at actionable decisions. Combining elements of artificial intelligence and connected devices, relational search can conjure up data readouts in a similar fashion to a Google search. Tools like this are going to completely revolutionize the healthcare world.

Internet of Things Integration

There are several ways that Internet of Things (IoT) integration is going to totally change how things work in the healthcare world. Greater device connectivity will open up opportunities that are beyond the scope of our current imaginations. But there are concrete ways that IoT is certainly going to make things better. For instance, it’ll be easier than ever to keep track of inventory. Data collection will also ramp up to an incredible degree. Working along with analytics technology, IoT implementation is going to be a huge catalyst for positive change in the healthcare sector.

Wearable Technology

People are increasingly adopting wearables such as Apple watches and other devices as part of their lives. This is already starting to play a huge role in the healthcare world, and will only grow in relevance into the future. Wearable technology is the ideal way for patients and healthcare professionals to keep tabs on important health indicators. But this collected information isn’t just useful for people on an individual basis, the cumulative data is going to show overarching patterns that would otherwise be completely undetectable. Cures or critical breakthroughs might occur entirely because of wearable technology.

Big Tech Wants to Enter the Space

When the big tech companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon see an opportunity, they start making moves. This is starting to happen in the healthcare realm. These companies are currently working with healthcare executives to find solutions for some of the industry’s underlying roadblocks. Thus far, Apple has been the most successful due to finding healthcare applications for the Apple watch. But it’s likely the other major players will start finding success in other ways.

No one knows exactly what’s in store for the healthcare industry. However, there are certainly developing trends that appear to be taking the sector in a positive direction.