5. Social Determinants of Health Gain Value
When making risk assessments and compiling disease statistics, healthcare systems mainly focus on factors within their area of expertise: quality and affordability of medical services. Still, those factors are only the tip of the iceberg. Many other less apparent factors affect patients before they experience symptoms and turn to clinicians.
Initially, health issues emerge due to reasons other than lack of treatment. Their roots go deeper; into demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic areas, which are rarely considered in the framework of traditional clinical diagnostics.
Medical institutions mainly manage symptoms and provide recommendations on lifestyle changes, influencing treatment outcomes by as low as 10%-20%. At the same time, non-medical factors predetermine health outcomes by 80%-90%. These factors are called the social determinants of health (SDOH).
In 2024, healthcare providers will approach SDOH with greater attention than ever before and start to evaluate patients’ medical histories more comprehensively, taking into consideration factors that remained unattended in previous years.
By prescribing prophylactic procedures based on patients’ SDOH predisposition to certain diseases, physicians will shift from symptom management to prediction and prevention to stop the advancement of adverse health conditions and reduce individual medical expenses.
6. Smart Implants
In 2023, more implant-related choices and technologies will enter the healthcare market in the United States and worldwide. This promises exceptionally higher efficiency of regenerative medicine, patient rehabilitation, and a cure for many types of disabilities that have previously been considered incurable.
Wider Use of 3D Bioprinting Technology
The volume of 3D printing opportunities in the medical domain is estimated to exceed $6 billion by the year 2027. 3D printing of bio-compatible implants is not a new method in 2023, but this tech will definitely become more reliable and accessible for a wider spectrum of patients, with new materials and more sophisticated methods of prosthetics.
Specifically, it is expected that progress in 3D bioprinting technology can offer enhancement in the following areas:
- Reduce production time and costs for implants and bionic prostheses.
- More affordable customized bionic prostheses for knees, spine, skull, hips, etc.
- Custom or personalized design of surgical instruments and medical devices.
- New generations and types of implants, implant engineering, and implant materials, which are expected to work better, match better, and last longer.
- Fully-functional mechanical limbs, enhanced lightweight prosthesis designs, and improved levels of integration between the orthopedic implants and human bones.
- More options of 3D-printable life-saving implants for cardiovascular and neurological patients.
Neural Implants
Efficient brain-computer implant offerings are expected to finally break into the market in 2023. At least, Neuralink hopes to start implanting its chips in human brains in 2022. There exist more companies, organizations, projects, and startups that are about to offer their neuro-implants for a variety of medical needs, including restoring certain functional independence in patients with different types of paralysis or blindness.
For example, by the end of 2021, it was reported that a group of scientists has implemented a microelectrode array (a penny-sized implant) into the visual cortex of a blind person, which allowed her to recognize several letters and shapes. There’s still a long way to go, however, the future of brain implants and their ability to compensate for various disabilities seems to be truly amazing and bright.