Frost and Sullivan's 9 healthcare predictions for 2017

An annual tradition with Frost and Sullivan's Transformational Health team is to gaze into its crystal ball and do a little predicting, forecasting the year come. The marketing research firm expects this will continue to be a year of uncertainty and turbulence, but with a small glimmer of constancy: Technology will continue to flourish. So much so, in fact, that it will have unprecedented impact on healthcare in terms of building some of the foundation blocks towards a connected home and healthcare ecosystem.

Scroll through the slides to see the nine healthcare predictions for the year.

Public and political pressure on the control of surging drug prices, globally, will compel health authorities to bring transparency measures around drug pricing, especially for some of the diabetes and cholesterol medicines where more low-cost generic competition is gaining market acceptance.

About this gallery.

With the potential to change how healthcare information is stored, shared, secured and paid for, blockchain technologies have the potential to tackle some of the biggest challenges in healthcare information management. Companies like Gem Health are among the few companies currently advocating the use and benefits of such a platform.

About this gallery.

As more and more experts and healthcare professionals find the usability of these AI systems as decision support tools not decision makers, uptake of AI-enabled clinical decision support tools is expected to increase in the coming years. More particularly during 2017, AI will play a big role in diagnostic imaging by complementing radiologists with advanced interpretation and imaging informatics supports.

About this gallery.

To date, the majority of outcome-based compensation models are, in reality, performance modifiers built on top of legacy fee-for-service reimbursement schemes. In 2017, the industry will begin to see more fully-formed schemes that focus on patient support across the care continuum. As such, healthcare providers are in dire need of the right technologies and tools to help them effectively deploy and coordinate patients, personnel and infrastructure.

About this gallery.

Healthcare has been a big focus for Apple in the past two years, and the company is committed to creating more clinical actionable products and services. Last August, Apple acquired medical records startup Gliimpse in order to broaden its presence in the personal healthcare information management market and complement existing solutions; these include HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit. This marks a tangible shift for Apple toward more clinically oriented solutions.

About this gallery.

An ideal confluence of events is poised to make 2017 a banner year for VC investment in healthcare. Strains on healthcare spending, the global recession, tightening regulatory oversight and other factors have limited VC dollar flow over the past five years, particularly for very early-stage companies in the healthcare industry. But with the maturation of certain emerging technologies, policy changes to the FDA and access to cash, it is expected there will be a resurgence in funding for new healthcare technologies.

About this gallery.

Digital health coaching platforms and wellness programs with proven behavioral therapies will find their way as an efficient alternative to post-care settings and rehabilitation centers. Innovative online patient engagement platforms are capable of capturing tailored information on lifestyle and behavioral health. This is based on health risk data that have a white space opportunity to provide patient risk classification solutions to make precision medicine a holistic approach.

With a view to avoid future excessive treatment costs, payers will encourage healthier lifestyles among members; they are likely to provide them with wearables and incentives for attaining specific health goals as motivation. In the new year, well-being programs will become a central, critical business imperative, necessary for optimizing not just the productivity and performance of employees, but also for managing the bottom line.

About this gallery.

Consumers will play a greater role in driving the uptake of point of care testing. In vitro diagnostic device manufacturers will invest in digital strategy. This is in order to make their business models patient-centric with consumer-friendly devices, embed remote connectivity features for real-time access to data, and simplifying sample collection processes.

About this gallery.

The concept of consumerism has been making inroads into the healthcare industry, and it's advancing proportionally with the shifting industry focus from volume to value-based care delivery models. With this thriving consumer engagement movement, consumers are more receptive to information and as they want to actively participate in their healthcare treatment during pre- and post-care. Technology is also playing a pivotal role in this paradigm shift, with connected health products such as wearables, teleheatlh, artificial intelligence and others.

About this gallery.