2024 key trends in healthcare

COVID may have lost its emergency status, but public sector healthcare continues to deal with “deep scars on our world.” The crisis underlined huge gaps in our healthcare systems, particularly in the ability of public health officials to coordinate an informed and rapid response. There’s a renewed push for rapid digitalization of healthcare systems. There’s a recognition of the importance of centering people over processes. And there’s a growing urgency to deliver sustainable healthcare services. Above all, leaders now recognize that each of these goals depends on a data strategy, with secure and uncomplicated access to health data.  

Here are five trends we expect to accelerate over the next twelve months as data democratization, digitalization and collaboration grow.

Trend 1: healthcare data sharing will increase

Healthcare stakeholders are discussing new ways to access real-time, harmonized data to help develop new healthcare and disease-prevention strategies. By overcoming existing data silos, digital transformation in healthcare can drive better patient outcomes and thereby improve overall population health.  

We saw this up close in our work with a consortium tasked with helping three Spanish hospitals develop an AI tool to help diagnose potential COVID patients. At the heart of this project was the need for patient data which was both interoperable and 100% secure. 

Data sharing across public bodies, businesses and individuals represents a unique opportunity to improve healthcare provision. Thus, the European Health Data Space, and the new policy of the US National Institute of Health, aim to promote the sharing of scientific data across organizations while safeguarding privacy. The UK’s NHS for example has invested in the creation of a Federated Data Platform to make it easier for health and care organizations to work together, compare data, analyze it and share effective digital solutions. 

2024 will see healthcare organizations focus on their data science strategy and infrastructure capabilities, including cloud capabilities and modern data platforms, to discover, use and ultimately share data not only within but also between their organizations.  

This will of course depend on individuals’ willingness to allow sharing of their personal health data. Individuals need to be empowered regarding their health data to build that willingness, through increased understanding, access and control of their data. It will also be necessary to ensure common standards for different sources and data systems to support the exchange of data, and to secure new data systems against cyber threats.  

As healthcare organizations become increasingly data-driven, many will need to up-skill staff and invest more in data analytics capabilities. In fact, 42% of software buyers from global healthcare organizations say staff acceptance and training is the number one challenge they face when planning investments in new software. 

Trend 2: the shift towards integrated care systems will continue 

Integrated care systems aim to create a holistic and coordinated care environment around physical, social, and mental healthcare, bringing together health organizations, government, the VCSE (voluntary, community and social enterprise) sector and other partners to collectively plan and innovate around meeting health and care needs. In recent years a number of regions have taken up the approach. 

The Nouvelle Aquitaine Region in France, for example, began its journey back in 2015 with a program to integrate health and social care. In another example, as of 2022, England’s NHS also formalized  42 Integrated Care Systems across the country, supporting populations from around 1 to 3 million people each to enable more coordinated and effective patient centered care. 

The pandemic highlighted the importance of integrated care as overstretched healthcare systems sought ways to prevent avoidable admissions to healthcare facilities and facilitate timely discharges, with healthcare provision continuing outside the healthcare facility setting. 

Beyond the pandemic, these kinds of public health solutions are becoming ever-more important as the capacity of healthcare facilities remains limited, and people increasingly want to have the choice between in-person or remote care. In addition, a rapidly aging population is calling for a holistic, multi-service care model – one that lets them manage their health in a more personalized and collaborative (as opposed to transactional) way, working with multiple health stakeholders. 

Integrated care systems work best in conjunction with remote or virtual channels of care such as telehealth, and by integrating creative, innovative technological solutions that center on patients. 

One example we’ve worked on is the mobile application Iris™ from OncoHealth, which provides 24/7 care to cancer patients outside of scheduled appointments and treatments, particularly in relation to the feelings of fear and anxiety associated with cancer treatment. This has provided users with instant telehealth care provision from the comfort of their homes, transforming their experience of healthcare services.

Trend 3: multi-stakeholder partnerships will drive healthcare service innovation

The twin challenges of a growing, aging population and service shortages require significant changes in public health solutions. To meet these challenges, stakeholders across the public and private sector will increasingly turn to collaborative partnerships. The mix of skills and capabilities within these partnerships will fuel innovation in models of care delivery. 

A WHO report published in the beginning of last year lays out common public health policy challenges faced by middle-income European countries. These healthcare challenges mostly stemmed from infrastructures which were unable to meet the needs of a modern healthcare system. The report highlighted a lack of capacity in primary care, obsolete or outdated IT infrastructure, and a lack of integration between different forms of care. The solution, the paper argues, are public-private partnerships that create collaborative environments and foster the innovation necessary to drive healthcare outcomes.  

One example of such a collaborative environment is Future4Care. Launched in 2021, Future4Care presents a unique ecosystem with the aim of bringing together various stakeholders in the health and digital worlds. It is the largest e-health accelerator in Europe, and acts as a catalyst in identifying and supporting the development of European e-health solutions until their go-to-market. The recent launch of a second lab in Germany is a signal of the demand for digital health in Europe and indicates a unique opportunity to transform Europe into a hub for healthcare innovation. 

Trend 4: digital health tools will enable individuals to gain more control over their health 

Digital healthcare technologies such as telemedicine, remote monitoring, wearables, and virtual wards all transform the way healthcare is delivered by putting patients in control of their own health with the goal of ultimately helping drive better patient outcomes.  

Using digital tools to support the prevention of ill health, including implementing minimum data-sharing standards, will be key in this journey, as will co-designing solutions with patients. Work will also need to be done in challenging the social determinants of health, such as housing, and the development of new technologies will require patients to engage with issues of consent around the processing and sharing of their data. 

Improved online health services will also play a critical role in the trend towards greater self-empowerment. In 2022 The European Commission declared three priorities for transforming digital health: 

1. Ensuring citizens secure access to their health data, including across borders 

2. Creating a shared European data infrastructure  

3. Empowering citizens with digital tools for user feedback and improved self care  

The key challenges they identify going forward are: 

1. Bridging the gap between cross-border users and national users. Currently, 84% of services for national users and 49% of services for cross-border users are fully online.  

2. Bridging the gap between citizens and entrepreneurs. 92% of services for entrepreneurs are online, compared to 80% for citizens.  

3. Bridging the gap between local and regional governments and central governments. As of 2023, 88% of evaluated central government services are completely online, compared to 76% of evaluated regional government services and 62% of evaluated local government services.  

The concrete benefits to patients of improved digital healthcare services range from convenience to life changing. Everyone appreciates greater ease in online scheduling and communications, the option of telehealth consultations, and simple-to-use e-prescriptions. For elderly or disabled patients – and the spouses and families who care for them – access to medical care without the difficulty of physically going to a provider is a tremendous step forward. 

Trend 5: healthcare systems will become more sustainable

In our predictions for 2022, we spoke about Green Health, and the importance of the natural world in promoting health and wellbeing. On the flip side of that coin, global warming and pollution carry significant disease risks. Yet the healthcare sector itself is currently far from sustainable, emitting an estimated 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

The COP26 Health Programme in 2021 highlighted the importance of climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems. COP28 renewed that pledge, redoubling the commitment of the healthcare sector to reduce its carbon footprint, with special focus on the negative impact of climate change on developing nations. Globally there has been a call to arms to accelerate its sustainability transition while balancing the rise in demand for its services, which is itself in some ways driven by climate change. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) for example, aims to be the world’s first net-zero national health service, with a legal commitment to reach net-zero by 2045. 

The White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have also reopened their Health Sector Climate Pledge, which encourages health organizations to commit to climate resilience goals. And both the NHS and HHS are committed to sustainable procurement. 

As a first step to achieving net-zero targets, healthcare organizations must understand their sustainability footprint. CO2 dashboards or calculators can help to collect, evaluate, and visualize energy consumption and emissions. Going a step further, digital twins can help organizations visualize their operations, using data to drive workflow efficiencies and optimize resource utilization. The insights drawn from digital twins will reduce emissions while improving care capacity and patient safety. 

Moving healthcare forward 

Digital transformation in healthcare is accelerating. As we step into 2024, the landscape of healthcare is poised for dynamic shifts, all underpinned by growing data capabilities. As data democratization, digitalization, and collaboration continue to evolve, we anticipate momentum along multiple paths, shaping the future of healthcare over the next 12 months and beyond. 

There’s one sure way to predict the future – be the one to build it. To get a head start on these trends, visit us on our healthcare page here.  

This blog was co-authored by Ali Ashraf, Richard Haynes, Kritika Rai, Deak Jenkins, Elin Heir and Dalia Benitez.

Further reading

For information about Capgemini’s health and social care services, visit here.