According to Statista, the global market size of digital health was $175 billion in 2019. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% and reach $660 billion by 2025. The Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that followed have surged the demand for digital health solutions. Healthtech startups have come up with innovative solutions that have revolutionized the healthcare industry.

Here are some of those solutions:

1. Online Consultation:

Online consultation is one of the foremost health tech revolutions. It refers to the digitization of doctor consultation. There was an increasing demand for the same in the developed parts of the world prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The restrictions imposed due to the pandemic have skyrocketed its demand globally. The restrictions confined people to their homes, they weren't able to travel to clinics either due to the restrictions or health risks. Online consultation proved to be a life-changing solution. Today, there are several healthtech startups globally providing the online consulting solution.

2. On-Demand Medicines:

Digitization has also paved the way for more healthtech solutions like on-demand medicines delivery. Several startups provide this service globally, nationally, or to specific locations. The customers have to feed the prescriptions or the details of required medicines, and they receive the delivery at their doorstep.

3. Online Health records:

The advancement of technology and its penetration into the healthcare sector has impacted the industry in several ways. One such advancement is the digitization of health records. Gone are those days wherein all the records were maintained as paper records in files, it is not only tedious to maintain but also increases the chances of being lost or unavailable. Today, several companies offer this service digitizing the records to the hospitals and clinics.

4. On-Demand Emergency services:

One of the new developments in the healthtech industry is the availability of On-Demand Emergency services. In many parts of the world, finding an ambulance service at the most pivotal moment was a challenge due to high demand and limited availability. Additionally, many a time, the ambulances weren’t equipped with all emergency equipment. There is a rise globally in the number of healthtech startups that are willing to provide this service. The customers can request an ambulance with a click of a button, and these ambulances are generally equipped with all the necessary equipment required to save lives.

5. Patient Monitoring Device:

Patient monitoring devices have gained huge importance in recent times. Many healthtech startups have innovated devices that not only collect the data and make it available to the patients but also communicate the data to their doctors. This helps in keeping the doctors updated in real-time and early detection of diseases. These devices have proved to be a boon for patients suffering from critical illness or a prolonged disease. The types of monitoring devices include insoles to monitor foot ulcers for diabetic patients, brain monitoring technology, heart monitoring, sleep monitoring, etc.

6. AI-based software for data analytics:

Data plays the most pivotal part in the decision-making, until recently the data was confined to the experience of the medical professional, but the advent of AI and data analytics has proved to be a game-changer. These analytics software collect data, analyze it using AI and help the medical professionals in the decision-making. This helps increase the accuracy of those decisions.

7. Scheduling systems:

Appointment scheduling systems have changed the way the clinics handle appointments. Scheduling software helps automate the appointment booking process, but also minimizes coordination and thus resource allocation for the clinics. The customers can directly book the slots according to their convenience, the software sends them reminders and helps minimize no-shows and improve the productivity and efficiency of the clinics.

8. Clinic aggregator platforms:

Another way the technology has impacted the healthcare industry is through aggregator platforms. These platforms provide the customers with the details of the nearby clinics or suggest clinics according to their requirements. It helps in increasing discoverability, and thus the number of patients.

Conclusion:

The advancement of technology has impacted all industries including healthcare. It has paved a way for several technology-based solutions that have changed the way the healthcare industry functions, and for the good. The healthtech solutions are beneficial for the patients and hospitals/clinics or medical professionals alike. What are your thoughts on the growth of the healthtech industry?