Healthcare trends have topped and surpassed other verticals in recent years, thanks to technological advancements, changing patient’s expectation & experience and by far the most, the absolute need for affordability & accessibility of cost-effective healthcare solutions has transformed this industry and patient’s dynamics as a newfound gold.
There are 2 major trends which has gathered tremendous momentum delivering the most impact in our ever-expanding healthcare costs viz,
- The focus on mental wellbeing
Mental wellbeing apps can reach people who might have not otherwise have access to the support due to geographical barriers, lack of transportation, scarcity of mental health professionals or purely due to stigma associated with it. Individuals who may be hesitant to seek face-to-face counselling due to society or privacy concerns can rely on mental health apps for a level of anonymity and confidentiality that can encourage them to seek help.
“…who may be hesitant to seek face-to-face counselling due to society or privacy concerns…”
Mental health completely relies on preventive care mechanism such as early detection and intervention methods such as mood tracking, stress management techniques and providing mood alleviation methods such as music, therapy, or yoga on fingertips to prevent the conditions turning bad to worse.
Some of the features that offer access to communities and individual support groups like virtual AA, thereby providing platform for users to share experiences, advice and encouragement thus addressing the social determinants of the society.
- Understanding & Action of non-medical factors (SDOH)
The clear focus on SDOH is akin to “prevention is better than cure” model, these non-medical factors that highly influence the health outcomes or in other words “the postcode lottery” of NHS UK. The major areas under consideration are towards economic stability and education of certain sections of the society, thereby determining employment, income expenses, debt and economic policies that can influence health outcomes by affecting people’s ability to afford living expenses in parallel to affording medical care.
Not only that but it is clearly understood that education level impacts health outcomes through literacy, affecting the ability to navigate the complex healthcare system, understand health information to make informed decisions such as medications and health insurances etc.
“…economic policies that can influence health outcomes by affecting people’s ability to afford living expenses in parallel to affording medical care…”
In parallel to those basic amenities such as safe housing, nutritious food and the quality of water also contribute to medical issues faced. Last but not the least the social integration in the world of ubiquitous connectivity plays the most crucial role and social cohesion and support have been linked to better health outcomes.
