Healthcare has not only been affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, but has simultaneously experienced an accelerated digital transformation. Here we look at the key healthcare trends for 2021.

1. The 5 Biggest Healthcare
Should Be Ready For Today
Trends In 2021 Everyone

2. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
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IntroductionIntroduction
Healthcare has not only been affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, but has
simultaneously experienced an accelerated digital transformation. Here we look at the
key healthcare trends for 2021.
The course of technology-driven change has been diverted this year due to the impact
of the coronavirus pandemic. While the biggest drivers of change are still artificial
intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), and other fourth industrial revolution fields,
their impact was felt in different ways than we may have anticipated at the start of the
year.
The 5 Biggest Healthcare Trends In 2021
Everyone Should Be Ready For Today

3. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
Text
IntroductionIntroduction
Nowhere is this more true than in healthcare. The focus of advanced research across
medicine, vaccines, social care, and environmental health has shifted to tackling the
ongoing crisis. And every key trend, from biotechnology and smart medicine to virtual
and augmented reality, smart cities, digital twinning, and robotics, have had their part to
play.
Here are my top five predictions for how this will continue to play out throughout 2021.
As new vaccines and treatments provide a glimmer of hope that normality of some sort
may resume, breakthroughs enabled by the accelerated pace of innovation we’ve seen
this year will better equip us to face new challenges.
The 5 Biggest Healthcare Trends In 2021
Everyone Should Be Ready For Today

4. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Healthcare a consideration in every aspect of life
In 2020, every company has had to become a tech company as data and computing have
become essential to everything we do. In 2021, every company will learn to become a
healthcare company, too, as safeguarding employees and customers becomes a core
requirement of doing business.
This will include enhanced biosecurity measures from sanitization stations to on-premises
screening technology and quarantine measures at locations where staff are required on-
site and can't work from home. Tech-driven innovation around this will bring us improved
safety measures and early-warning systems to reduce the likelihood of contagious
illnesses being passed around.
For some companies, it will still be safer for staff to remain remote going into 2021 and
possibly throughout the year. Here, there will be other challenges, such as a need to
support the mental health of workers as they juggle home and work responsibilities.
Without daily face-to-face contact, it will be more difficult for managers to assess whether
their teams are overworked or taking the right precautions to safeguard their health. Once
again, technology will play its part in mitigating these dangers, from health apps that
monitor our activity and remind us to take breaks and exercise, meditation and
mindfulness apps, and remote therapeutic services.

5. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Virtual care and remote medicine
If it's possible to receive the same level of care at home as you would from a visit to a
doctor's surgery or outpatient clinic, then surely it makes sense to do so? Particularly for
minor and routine appointments, the number of virtual visits have skyrocketed during the
pandemic and is predicted by Forrester analysts to hit one billion by the end of 2020. It’s
also thought that during 2021 one third of virtual care appointments will be related to
mental health issues.
As well as reducing the risk of spreading contagion, remote medicine allows medical
professionals to squeeze more patient consultations into their busy schedules. This is a
particularly vital consideration in highly populated countries such as China and India,
where doctors are in short supply.
Another facet of this trend will be the ongoing development of robotic and autonomous
healthcare assistants capable of working in hospitals or right in people's homes. These will
reduce the likelihood of infection (a big problem in hospitals even before Covid). These
also have mental health implications - companion robots are being introduced into care
homes in the UK; they were found to be successful at reducing symptoms of loneliness
and social isolation.

6. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Genomics and gene editing lead to further
breakthroughs
Gene editing enables us to influence specific traits that are inherited by new living cells,
when new proteins are created by the division of existing cells. These traits, known as
phenotypes, govern the cell’s longevity, its ability to survive against injury or illness, and
many other factors. By manipulating these phenotypes through techniques such as
CRISPR-Cas9, scientists have already made many advances in treatments of killer diseases,
including Duchenne muscular Dystrophy, heart disease, and cancer.
Due to breakthroughs in this field, we're likely to see accelerated development of forms of
treatment known as "precision medicine," where drugs can be customized to match the
genetic profile of individual patients, making them more effective, as well as less likely to
cause unwanted side-effects.
The technology has also been used to create a “lab on a chip," designed for fast detection
of coronavirus infection. A handheld device capable of detecting if people are infected,
without having to rely on inaccurate indicators such as coughing or a temperature, could
be hugely beneficial in returning a level of normality to our lives.

7. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Genomics and gene editing lead to further
breakthroughs
And looking beyond medical use cases, methods demonstrated by on UK startup, Tropic
Biosciences, have been used to create caffeine-free coffee beans, reducing the cost and
resources spent decaffeinating regular beans. They have also created disease-resistant
bananas, which could transform an industry that currently spends a quarter of its
production costs fighting disease.

8. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Data and AI drives shift to fairer healthcare insurance
and coverage
The growth in the amount of data collected on our health, from our interaction with health
services as well as our own devices and online activities, means providers have an
increasingly accurate picture of where and when intervention may be needed.
The coronavirus pandemic has shown us that there is a willingness to share our personal
data when the benefits to our health are clearly communicated. This has been proven by
track-and-trace systems that have reliably kept infection levels in check in some regions
(though less so in others).
This will be particularly important from a financial point of view. The coronavirus pandemic
has been costly for the healthcare industry, with revenues falling by 50% in the US due to
patients avoiding hospitals and surgeries. This will lead to an increased reliance on AI-
driven prediction tools to forecast where resources can be used most efficiently. Insurance
providers will also step up their use of advanced predictive technology to better
understand risk and more accurately set premiums.

9. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
AI, IoT, and Smart Cities improve our ability to detect
and respond to future outbreaks
"Smart cities" is a term used to describe the concept of building digital connectivity and
automated data-driven decisioning into the fabric of urban life, including planning public
transport networks, refuse collection, energy distribution, and environmental health
initiatives. AI and IoT are fundamental to many initiatives in this space.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the focus of smart city innovation has switched
towards planning and managing the way growing numbers of people will live in ever-
closer proximity to each other. This is a particular challenge in developing countries where
urban populations continue to grow – the UN predicts 68% of the world’s population will
live in urban areas by 2050.
Just as every company will have a focus on healthcare going into 2021 (see my first
prediction in this post), so to will every city planner and municipal authority. A keyword is
“resilience”, with increasing resources dedicated to developing technology to help avoid
the catastrophic impact on lives and economies of pandemics and outbreaks.
Environmental health is a major focus, too, with tech-driven initiatives aimed at reducing
air pollution and building resilience to climate-driven change such as temperature and
sea-level rises, likely to take center-stage as we move into the ‘20s.

10. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
AI, IoT, and Smart Cities improve our ability to detect
and respond to future outbreaks
If you would like to learn more about technology trends, then have a look at my books:
Tech Trends in Practice: The 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial
Revolution and The Intelligence Revolution: Transforming Your Business With AI.

11. Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2020 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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