According to Forbes’s latest “Eight Healthcare Forecasts for 2019”, the blockchain will transform from hype to commercial value in the next year. It is expected that by the end of 2019, 5%-10% of healthcare blockchain applications will be embraced in the pilot phase Limited commercial availability, and companies such as Change Healthcare, Hash Health and Guardtime will continue to expand their commercialized blockchain applications.
As the global ageing intensifies, the concept of big health has been successfully pushed to the forefront of investment. Recently, according to foreign media reports, a secret project team within Amazon is planning to develop a hardware product that allows patients to do medical tests at home, thereby leading Amazon into the big health field.
In fact, Amazon has not just begun to make an idea about the “fat” piece of big health. As early as the beginning of this year, Amazon had planned to expand its business territory by acquiring Confer Health, a home diagnosis and treatment hardware company, but unfortunately this acquisition plan failed this summer.
For each business segment in the big health field, Amazon strives to find breakthroughs: for example, it has planned to establish contacts with investors in the medical field and early-stage entrepreneurial projects; establish cooperation with large US medical distributors and sell medical equipment to medical institutions; use Amazon cloud business to develop customers in the health field; even Amazon’s voice technology carrier artificial intelligence assistant Alexa is developing a series of skills to assist patients in better disease control.
It is not difficult to find that as the boundaries between retail, IT, and medical and health industries become more and more blurred, not only traditional medical companies are expected to open up new directions with technological empowerment, but also non-traditional digital providers such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon. It is possible to lead in the direction of family health and become an important driving force in the field of future health.
Looking at the Chinese market again, looking back at the upcoming 2018, there are many high-quality projects in the medical and health field. Events such as Ping An Good Doctor, Cinda Biotech’s Hong Kong stock market listing, Mindray Medical’s A-share listing, and WuXi AppTec’s return to A-share market have once again pushed the total investment and financing of the healthcare industry to a new high. So in 2019, what points in the medical and health field may become the focus of capital attention? The latest report released by Forbes, “2019 key 8 Predictions for Global Healthcare Industry” (“2019 eight major medical health predictions”) in the coming year, medical AI, medical professional data analysis, blockchain applications, medical industry R&D investment, medical insurance business , As well as the innovation trend of emerging markets in Asia, etc. made eight predictions for the future development of the field of health.
Prediction 1: Switch to a value-based model
It is estimated that by the end of 2019, up to 15% of global medical expenditures will be linked to value/result-based medical care concepts in some form. For those countries (such as the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, Canada, and Japan) that currently spend nearly 10% or more of their GDP on medical expenditures, the impetus for this transformation will be even more urgent.
Prediction 2: The value of medical and health AI will increase significantly
In 2019, the application of AI in clinical and non-clinical cases will show more powerful results, further promoting the growth of its application in the medical field. It is expected that by the end of 2019, AI for medical information technology applications will exceed $1.7 billion , And by running the AI platform in the selected medical workflow, its productivity will increase by 10-15% in the next 2-3 years. It is expected that in 2019, the role of AI in the medical field will begin to reap results and rewards, especially in applications such as imaging diagnosis, drug development, and risk analysis.
Prediction 3: Digital medical technology for outside hospitals will increase significantly
It is estimated that by the end of 2019, digital medical technology for outside hospitals will increase by 30%, reaching a global market of more than 25 billion U.S. dollars. The cost burden caused by the increase in chronic disease health and the aging population will be digital health solutions (such as RPM equipment). , Telemedicine health platform, PERS and mHealth applications). In addition, medical service models other than physical medicine will continue to expand, including behavioral health, digital health therapy, dentistry, nutrition, and prescription management.
Prediction 4: Asia will become the global pharmaceutical and equipment manufacturing innovation center
A series of global pharmaceutical and equipment OEMs are trying to subvert the tradition of introducing pharmaceutical products from the West to the East by launching new products that are suitable for Asians’ physical fitness, lifestyle and affordable. It is estimated that in 2019, up to 10% of medical R&D investment will be used for localized innovation in emerging Asian markets. In terms of growth, the Asia-Pacific region is the strongest market, with more than 30% of advanced cell therapy trials in the world.
Prediction 5: Big data turns to meaningful small data
A large number of professional analysis solutions will stand out. It is estimated that by the end of 2019, 50% of medical and health companies will have resources dedicated to access, sharing and analysis. In the future, the main goals of medical health will include: population health management (identifying individuals at risk), identifying and adopting the best treatment methods (low cost, excellent results), and automation of patients, payers, doctors, and procedures. Therefore, big data will sink into small data segments.
Test 6: Medical and health will occupy a dominant position in the field of voice applications
As technology giants compete fiercely on voice solutions, medical and health voice and chatbot applications that meet HIPAA standards will become mainstream. Although the current level of development of voice technology makes it only suitable for some limited voice applications, the application of voice technology to clinical reviews such as elderly care, chronic disease management, and doctor assistant applications will provide growth opportunities for it in the future.
Prediction 7: Blockchain transforms from hype to commercial value
It is expected that by the end of 2019, 5%-10% of healthcare blockchain applications will embrace limited commercial availability from the pilot phase, while companies such as Change Healthcare, Hash Health and Guardtime will continue to expand their already commercialized blockchains application.
Prediction 8: Innovative private insurance model opens
Due to the inability to meet individual needs, current medical insurance has long been outdated. In order to ensure future global growth, many insurance companies have begun to provide data and digital-driven medical services to their policyholders to enhance the personalized experience and reduce potential claims costs. It is expected that by the end of 2019, 5-10% of medical insurance plans will be linked to lifestyle and health data-driven interactive policies in some form. Interactive policies will continue to be popular globally because it enables insurance companies to use user personal data to personalize premiums and generate discounts or rewards.
Under the trend of globalization, the medical and health industry will still become the darling of capital. The optimistic view of emerging markets in Asia will drive the development of a number of domestic biomedical and medical device companies. For example, CreditEase Wealth Private Equity Fund of Funds has long been involved in the investment of WuXi AppTec, the largest CRO company in China, and Mindray Medical, the largest medical device company in China, which have become industry-recognized leaders. In addition, such as molecular diagnostic technology companies Shengxiang Bio, high-end generics and API company Borui Bio, liver disease drug R&D, production and sales company Kain Technology, etc., are also favored by capital and become a new driving force for China’s healthcare.
Whether it is the pharmaceutical companies’ own research and development of new drugs or the innovative changes brought about by technology giants in medical hardware, technology is an important factor driving the medical and health industry chain, and it is also an important consideration for whether medical and health-related projects will be favored by capital . In the medical ecological chain, enterprises and projects empowered by science and technology are selected for investment, from medical equipment and pharmaceutical preparations to medical services and innovative technologies.
