COVID-19 has been a disruptive catalyst across every industry. This pandemic is set to reshape the healthcare industry with cutting-edge technologies in virtual care such as internet of medical things (IoMT), teleradiology, telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and virtual visits.
The post-COVID-19 telehealth market forecast of 64% growth versus the anticipated 32% pre-COVID-19 annual growth rate alludes to 100% growth in adoption.
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on the Healthcare Industry, has uncovered 10 growth opportunities in healthcare, including:
- Life Sciences: In vitro diagnostic (IVD) testing services at retail clinics, malls and airports will be the new normal post-pandemic. The demand for testing has exceeded the traditional avenues of availability, and patients are avoiding healthcare facilities unless they are experiencing a medical emergency.
- Digital Health: Advanced data analytics will be required to support the need for immediate patient data. Frost & Sullivan anticipated that the pre-COVID-19 digital healthcare startup investment environment would become increasingly conservative, with enhanced diligence and a narrowed focus on solutions that are easily scalable, readily deployable and leverage patient data interoperability as a foundation.
- Advanced Medical Technology: Hospitals and medical device companies can focus on remote patient engagement strategies, including virtual rehabilitation, virtual assistants, chatbots, and telehealth for isolated patients’ care management.
- Medical Imaging: Post-COVID-19, the demand for imaging will be overwhelming across most hospitals. Teleradiology solutions will witness higher demand as they can distribute the requests over a larger set of radiologists efficiently.
Reenita Das, Transformational Health Senior Vice President and Partner, Frost & Sullivan, said: “It took COVID-19 to reaffirm and reassess the value of telemedicine and its boon to the healthcare system globally. Today, telemedicine has become the standard of care, driving a rise in service providers and in the need for service standardization across the continuum of care.
“While we recognize the tragedy that COVID-19 has caused the world, we also realize that it has opened many opportunities for companies to rejuvenate in this ‘new normal ecosystem. Our team has been tracking the potential opportunities in all sectors of healthcare.
“For instance, the increasing workload for radiologists in a post-COVID scenario will expand the demand for teleradiology infrastructure and services, enhanced use of artificial intelligence (AI) to pre-read and decrease backlog.”
