Following the health crisis that began in 2020, the sector has come under intense pressure to manage resources that were initially insufficient to cope with the situation. This has forced healthcare organizations to change their approach and develop new techniques and processes, and one of the most important strategies is to undertake digital transformation as soon as possible, in order to automate processes and enable new capabilities such as telemedicine.
Along this path, companies in the sector are adopting a series of key technologies, most notably artificial intelligence and systems designed to build digital platforms for virtual care. There is also rapid adoption of different forms of healthcare robotics, with technologies aimed at both operating rooms and cleaning and hygiene.
In a recent report published by GlobalData, Jemima Walker, an analyst on the firm’s thematic research team, notes that “AI has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry, helping to shorten drug discovery timelines, successfully repurpose existing drugs to fight COVID-19, improve remote patient monitoring tools, enhance supply chain efficiency, and modernize the outdated clinical trial model by improving trial design, patient recruitment, and patient retention”. Artificial intelligence has become one of the main topics of discussion among companies in the sector, and its presence in presentations by medical device, pharmaceutical, and healthcare companies has increased by more than 50% between 2018 and 2021. Experts believe the market for artificial intelligence platforms in the healthcare industry is poised for growth, with revenue expected to rise from $1.6 billion in 2019 to around $5.7 billion by 2025.
