Home Hospitals  

Home Hospitals is a growing trend in 2022 that has allowed patients to receive treatment at home, rather than in hospital rooms, through virtual care (telemedicine) and the use of smart gadgets. Doctors can accurately track important health indicators such as heart rate, blood oxygen, in real-time.  

In 2022, remote patient care methods being extended to other medical areas, such as mental health and providing ongoing monitoring of chronic illnesses, as well as follow-up care for patients recovering from surgeries and serious illnesses. 

Telemedicine and remote treatment 

During the first months of the pandemic, the number of medical consultations conducted remotely rose from 0.1% to 43.5%. And now the demand for audio consultations among patients continues to grow. Most users want to continue to use medical services remotely. The trend towards using online services is only getting stronger. 

Extended Reality  

Extended Reality (XR) is a general concept that embodies virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). These technologies include lenses or headsets that change our perception of the world. VR places us fully in a virtual environment, where AR/MR overlaps virtual elements with real-time images of the world around us. All of these technologies have the potential to revolutionize healthcare sector. How exactly VR technologies are implemented in healthcare?  

- VR headsets are used in clinical research and treatment. This technology allows doctors and surgeons to work with human body without risking patients’ lives.  

- VR for pain reduction. VR has the unique ability to manipulate the way the brain processes pain through the senses through a powerfully immersive experience. This innovation is actively used to reduce the perception of pain during childbirth, cancer treatment, and other painful medical procedures. 

- VR is used in treatment. This can be part of psychotherapy where children with autism are taught different skills such as social skills and coping skills. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help patients overcome phobias, anxiety, post-traumatic and other disorders in a safe and non-threatening environment. 

The number of applications of extended reality in healthcare will also continue to grow in 2022. 

Predictive medicine 

Another area of healthcare that will continue to develop in the coming years is predictive medicine. Instead of responding to disease by providing treatment, predictive medicine aims to predict where and when disease will occur and suggest solutions before it happens. This may include predicting infectious disease outbreaks, readmission rates, and lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and environment that can lead to health problems. All this is possible with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, and algorithms that allow us to identify patterns in huge data sets.  

Digital twins and simulations 

Digital twins are another new trend that is gaining attention in healthcare. This idea is based on a "virtual patient" - a digital simulation of people for testing drugs and treatment, in order to reduce the number of errors and decrease time. 

In 2022 we will continue to see progress towards improving this technology. Now digital twins of human organs and systems is a much more attainable goal. They allow doctors to investigate various pathologies and experiment with treatments without risking harming patients while reducing the need for costly human or animal trials.  

Examples of this are projects such as "Living Heart" (digital twin of the human heart) and "Neurotwin" (a model of the interaction of electrical fields in the brain). 

Digital twin technology is considered one of the most important health care trends for 2022. It is expected that it will create new treatments faster and at a lower cost. 

Summary

With so many emerging trends, we can conclude that the digitalization of the healthcare system continues to grow, and with it, investment in medical technology. According to the HIMSS, 80% of healthcare providers plan to increase investment in technology and digital solutions over the next five years. This means that we will continue to see the development of areas such as telemedicine, personalized medicine, the Internet of Medical Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and others.