What’s Next for Health in 280 Characters or Less

We asked our members from around the world to tell us their thoughts on what’s next for health. Here's what they had to say—in 280 characters or less.

It’s time to change healthcare from encounter to relationship. The future will have personalized care chatbots and apps using algorithms to deliver 24/7 personalized support, health coaching, reminders and alerts to reduce risk and improve care that empowers the health citizen.
—Khalil Abdel Khalek, MD, MRCPCH, CEO, Tabibi247; a Health 2.0 Cairo Chapter Member and Advisory Board Member

The next major revolution in healthcare will be the movement from fee-for-service reimbursement to value- and quality-based reimbursement incentives where the consumer has access to care when and where they want it through new innovation, collaboration and direct consumer input.
—Mark Anderson, Chief Operating Officer, EAST TX ACO; the Houston Chapter of HIMSS President

Broadband access—all our national and population health goals start with access to all. Once broadband and access has been initialized, then population health, management, telehealth and patient wellness will begin to grow.
—Sepi Browning, the Georgia Chapter of HIMSS President

There are a significant number of Urgent Care clinics opening across the country. It will be critical that this care is accessible throughout networks and does not jeopardize patient care including preventative care if there is not a primary care provider.
—Bonne Farberow, MSN, RN-BC, CCRP, Consultant; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

Artificial intelligence and the 5G network will change telehealth making e-visits the typical first round for patients. Rural patients will have medical care as close as their smart phone. With new IoT devices, images will be shared with providers for diagnosis and care planning.
—Lynn Gibson, CHCIO, Chief Technology Officer, CHRISTUS Health; a HIMSS Individual Member

The healthcare sharing economy. Because of technology, it is now possible to share decisions in care, in cost, in quality, and to reduce the shared care burden; for patients, for providers, for caregivers, for all involved.
—Leslie Kelly Hall, Executive, Engaging Patient Strategy; the HIMSS Interoperability & HIE Community Co-Chair

More countries involved in cross-border integration of healthcare systems, like e-prescriptions and EHRs. Telemed legislation finalized in the most developed EU countries. More opportunities for faster adoption of tech like AI, big data, blockchain and involvement of startups.
—Marianna Imenokhoeva, Founder, Linktomedicine; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

Developers of artificial intelligence, deep learning and blockchain will remember that the goal is, ‘How do we enhance diagnosis, include social determinants of health and better stratify disease and patients to improve drug development, patient management and patient outcomes?
—Michael N. Liebman, PhD, Managing Director, IPQ Analytics, LLC; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

Next for health is looking beyond the EHR to incorporate new technologies like blockchain and AI, and corresponding methodologies to enhance better connectivity between disparate medical practitioners and institutions, which results in improved healthcare outcomes.
—Chrissa McFarlane, CEO, Patientory, Inc.; a HIMSS Interoperability & HIE Committee Member and Blockchain in Healthcare Task Force Member

It’s hard to predict what’s next for health and healthcare… both are moving exponentially in multiple directions. But in digital health, the future is all about information and its governance… successes in technology have unleashed a firehose that we must harness!
—Michael Nusbaum, BASc, MHSA, FHIMSS, past Vice-Chair HIMSS-North America Board Member and a HIMSS Interoperability & HIE Committee Member

Adverse childhood experiences will get added to SDOH discussion. Wealthiest and most tech savvy will fund broad array of tech and bio that extends high-quality life to new levels, expanding disparities while challenging assumptions about aging.
—Anna Pannier, MBA, FACHE, Director, IS – Quality, Ascension Information Services, St. Thomas Health; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

Integrated platforms w/RPM & smart speakers support care in less expensive community-based locations. Technology enables interconnectivity, remote monitoring of health & disease, with AI applications enabling more efficient processes to improve patient & provider engagement.
—Joel J. Reich, MD, FACEP, CPE, SHIMSS, Adjunct Faculty, Consultant/Advisor; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

I do not know what is the next big thing in healthcare, however, I know it will evolve and revolve around how healthcare utilizes the mega data it has at its disposal along with AI and other analytical tools.
—Willie Smith, Managing Partner, Guice Smith & Associates; a HIMSS Chapter Leader

Health/wellness will be equitable and accessible to all through integrated care ecosystem encompassing clinical care, behavioral health, stress management, mindfulness and be part of school curriculum so health literacy is minimally at a high-school level for most individuals.
—Jay Srini, Chief Strategist, SCS Ventures; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

With the broader and deeper real-world data growing, real-world evidence helps leverage insights for epidemiology and drug safety, outcomes research, market access, patient landscapes and brand performance, and for specific disease states like oncology, immunology and neurology.
—Lingyi (Michael) Tang, OMOP Consultant, IQVIA; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

The citizen/patient becomes increasingly a well-informed ‘co-producer’ in health research and healthcare. We need to experience and learn what this shift in roles/responsibilities exactly means in daily practices of patients, care professionals and researchers.
—Anja van der Heide, Project Manager University Medical Center Groningen; a HIMSS Innovation Committee Member

Health is entering a rapid phase of innovation coupled with heightened awareness of cost constraints that will result in fragmented delivery models putting more pressure on the management of social determinants of health and risking greater disparities in access to quality care.
—Alan Young, Chief Medical Officer, GYANT; a HIMSS Physician Committee Member, the Southern California Chapter of HIMSS Chief Medical Information Officer Committee Chair and HIMSS Chapter Task Force Member

The views and opinions expressed in this blog or by commenters are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of HIMSS or its affiliates.

Originally published December 6, 2019