BCG – Future of Digital Health, 2024

The healthcare industry is experiencing a trend towards virtual hospital wards, which will greatly transform patient care through remote monitoring, telemedicine, and data analytics. This trend has been in the making for over a decade, with the approval of the first FDA digital medicine solution, Welldoc. However, one of the challenges faced is generating the right outcomes for all stakeholders, including patients, physicians, and payers. Demonstrating positive outcomes through real-world evidence studies, trials, and clinical studies will be crucial for the success and reimbursement of digital companion and health solutions. Another significant development expected is the proliferation of GenAI, advanced analytics, and automation in healthcare. Various industries, including healthcare, financial services, insurance, consumer, and retail, are adopting AI-related applications to improve their efficiency and potential revenue gains. This technology is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of over 80% in the next five years, benefiting the healthcare ecosystem across various functions such as sales, marketing, R&D, manufacturing, operations, and business processes. Furthermore, there will be continued momentum in developing outpatient, home health, and care-anywhere models. Responding to the increasing demand from consumers, healthcare companies are driving alternative models that meet patients' needs in different settings. This includes an uptick in outpatient and urgent care visits, transformations in primary care, and the rise of in-home diagnostic companies. These new models, combined with digital and analytics solutions, aim to provide personalized care at a reasonable cost. Overall, the future of digital health in 2024 looks promising, with virtual hospital wards, AI technology, and alternative care models leading the way in improving patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency.