From the Editor — Report: Artificial Intelligence to Dominate Healthcare in 2022

This year is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for all things digital in medical technology. Digital health, mHealth, wearables, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and telehealth are dominating the device landscape for 2022 and beyond. For more details on how these technologies will play out, see the article “2022 Technology Trends: Digital Health Marks the Future of Medical Development.”

AI, in particular, will play a role in many aspects of healthcare. In its latest report, “Tech, Media & Telecoms Predictions 2022 — Thematic Research,” data and analytics company GlobalData predicts that AI will be a key driver of healthcare innovation and industry disruption in 2002. The report points out that digital and virtual tools will help to address the demand for better patient care and, although medical robotics hold promise, high investment will prevent quick adoption.

“AI has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry, supporting the shortening of drug-discovery timelines, the successful repurposing of existing drugs to fight COVID-19, the enhancing of remote patient monitoring tools, the improving of supply chain efficiency, and the modernization of the outdated clinical trial model through improving trial design, patient recruitment, and patient retention,” says Jemima Walker, analyst in the Thematic Research team at GlobalData.

“The tech has already got companies talking, as mentions of ‘AI’ within healthcare, pharma, and medical device company filings increased by over 50 percent, from 700 in 2018 to 1,100 in 2021, according to GlobalData’s Filings Analytics Database,” she says. “As more businesses realize the potential of incorporating AI into their day-to-day operations, the healthcare segment of the AI platforms market is set for growth, with GlobalData forecasts predicting a rise from $1.6 billion in 2019 to $5.7 billion in 2025.

She does note that regulation surrounding AI will play a role in its development. “Regulation around the use of AI in healthtech, particularly for medical devices, is still in development. The EU’s plans for additional more stringent requirements in 2022 will lead to large penalties for those that do not comply, and smaller companies will be prevented from entering the market entirely.”

Still, AI is likely to be a catalyst for a paradigm shift in healthcare.

Cyrus Mewawalla, head of thematic research at GlobalData, notes that the business world has bifurcated into two streams: the tech-enabled and the tech-disabled. “The winners have invested heavily in next-generation technology. The losers feel they don’t have to,” he says. “The successful companies of tomorrow spend every minute monitoring how technology, media, and telecom themes will play out.”

Digital and virtual tools will advance many healthcare services, including chronic pain management, stroke rehabilitation, opioid addiction therapy, and much more.

Sherrie Trigg

Editor and Director of Medical Content For a copy of the report, go here .