Medical Technology Trends to Watch

​Medical technology continues to evolve rapidly as MedTech companies become even more integral in a wide range of healthcare settings. Here are some current trends that can be expected to accelerate through 2018 and into 2019.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is Poised for Rapid Growth

The transition to value-based care and how medical providers are reimbursed is driving faster growth in remote patient monitoring, data analysis, and patient counseling. 

The challenge in improving patient engagement, compliance, improved health outcomes, and healthcare cost savings for both healthcare providers and patients is most often found outside of the doctor’s office, between appointments.

Doctors will increasingly rely on remote monitoring, reminders, encouragement, and coaching of patients with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), private health insurers, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), employers, and providers are all committed to increased use of remote medical technology. 

Reimbursement will continue to rise in this category, and MedTech companies that are not already active in this space are scrambling to gain entry and market share. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the New Holy Grail in Healthcare

As Ricky Ricardo might say if he were alive today and working in the healthcare industry instead of nightclubs, “Ai, Ai, Ai!” AI startups will be an increasingly attractive category of investment in healthcare. 

Startup Paige.AI has raised $25 million in funding and has also inked a licensing agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to provide “computational pathology” to combat cancer. If human pathologists aren’t already concerned about this trend, they probably should be.

Big Data is Changing the Way Healthcare is Delivered

Collection and analysis of “big data” was the first step and occupied much of the last ten years. Now, application of that data to treat patients is showing up in various corners of the healthcare continuum. 

Six hospitals in Alameda County, Calif. are sharing a MedTech system called “EDIE” from Utah-based Collective Medical Technologies, Inc. to reduce frequent visits to the emergency department (ED) by the same patients and improve treatment and outcomes through shared clinical data about visits by the same patient to EDs in different hospitals.

Predictive analytics are also being piloted at a number of different health systems to detect early warning signs of sepsis and other dangerous infections. 

Big Medical Device Companies Are Getting Bigger Through Mergers & Acquisitions

As in most sectors of the healthcare industry, medical device companies are continuing to grow and add product through mergers and acquisitions.

A few notable examples include:

• Philips acquired EPD Solutions, maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems that help electrophysiologists use 3D images to navigate the heart.
• Boston Scientific recently acquired nVision Medical, makers of a device used in early detection of ovarian cancer, and NxThera, makers of a radiofrequency device that is used to destroy obstructive prostate tissue in men with enlarged, non-cancerous prostates (BPH).
• At the time of writing, Boston Scientific is also rumored to be an acquisition target of Stryker. If Stryker takes over Boston Scientific, it would create a medical-device giant valued at upwards of $110 billion.
• Medtronic continues its unabated hunger for acquisitions. 

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About the Author

Carevoyance contributor Lonnie Hirsch is the Founder and CEO of Hirsch Healthcare Consulting, one of the premier consultants and strategists for helping medical practices and hospitals across the U.S. and in other countries achieve profitable top line and bottom line growth.