Top Trending Healthcare Reports of 2019

I always appreciate coming to the end of the year and taking a moment to step back and look at how far we have come. Considering that 2018 consisted of ER visits for my wife following a car accident (we made it out mostly okay), 2019 was by far a better year.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also look at the industry we work so hard to improve—healthcare. 2019 was an exciting year for development with regard to health tech, and I’d like to spend a moment highlighting some of the top-visited reports that KLAS published this year in no particular order.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

If NASA could use hype as rocket fuel, I don’t doubt that the noise around AI would have gotten us to Mars already. After about two years of hearing about the miracles of AI from every pulpit at every healthcare conference across the country, I was relieved when we finally had enough validated data to publish a report.

Partnering with CHIME, KLAS used the Healthcare AI 2019 report to define the different use cases for AI in healthcare. Beyond that, KLAS interviewed 57 organizations about their current AI capabilities, challenges, and best practices. The most exciting part? We’ve started to see validated use cases popping up.

Now, I should specify that I have previously heard AI defined as a machine starting, processing, and ending a task independently, without human intervention, and I would be crazy to say that we are at that point. It is important to note that results are still early, and it is still unclear which successes can be scaled.

Emerging Technology

It is unsurprising that our Emerging HCIT Companies report got so much attention this year. KLAS has spent the year reaching out to providers and asking what top-of-mind technologies they looking forward to. The top three picks? Population health management (PHM), patient engagement, and AI/machine learning. That prompted KLAS to publish some of the other reports I will mention later.

Additionally, KLAS asked providers which specific companies were most intriguing to them. Of the 57 interviews conducted, three vendors were mentioned multiple times:

NowPow is a PHM vendor helping to bridge the gap between low-tech partners and EHR vendors.

IllumiCare is a clinical care–support vendor that, according to providers we spoke with, has an EHR-agnostic tool that helps parse out information from the EHR to impact care.

Viz.ai provides an AI/machine learning platform that helps with CT imaging to diagnose strokes.

Acute Care Market Share

A perennial favorite report, the 2019 Acute Care Market Share report covers the wins and losses of the biggest vendors in the acute space, from Allscripts to Cerner and everyone in between. This year’s report (looking at the 2018 calendar year) saw the busiest year in terms of purchasing. It covers insights from MEDITECH’s Expanse platform gains to the losses and wins between Epic and Cerner.

Patient Engagement

This year, KLAS hosted a patient engagement summit; the lead-up to the summit required the creation of the Patient Engagement Ecosystem report. This report seeks to bring all the disparate pieces of the market that fly the banner of patient engagement under one roof. It identifies how KLAS measures vendors and lays out a framework in which each vendor’s performance is measured.

The report is helpful for providers who are looking for a map to navigate the sea of options and showcases vendors such as Allscripts, CipherHealth, and GetWellNetwork for their well-aligned multiplatform offerings. The report also highlights the biggest achieved outcomes providers are experiencing in the patient engagement market.

PACS

Lastly, the Global PACS report was another highly viewed report published this year and focuses on the global shift in imaging to cloud technology and lighter infrastructure. Providers interviewed are looking for vendor partners with an eye on future technology. Frontrunners like Sectra, Agfa, and Carestream are recognized for their ability to adapt to global-customer needs, and many providers report frustration with Change Healthcare’s and Fujifilm’s international offerings.

Looking at each of these reports now, it is clear to me that 2019 has been an interesting year for health tech. I am looking forward to seeing how 2020 can tackle some of the looming problems we still face.



     


     Photo cred: Adobe Stock, tuastock