Across the globe, senior executive interest and demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in the healthcare sector are surging, driven by a potent combination of common factors.
Rising costs, aging populations, and the need for data-driven insights push healthcare leaders to embrace AI's potential for optimizing operations, improving diagnoses, and personalizing care.
Moreover, AI promises to alleviate physician and nurse burnout, unlocking efficiencies, and making it a strategic imperative for leaders seeking sustainable growth and improved patient outcomes.
GenAI Apps in Healthcare Market Development
IDC predicts that by 2025, Generative AI (GenAI) will free up to 10 percent of medical clinicians' time, translating into an estimated $100 billion in annual healthcare savings in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) to realize workflow automation and efficiency.
This is just one of IDC’s predictions unveiled in their latest worldwide market study.
As the life sciences industry looks to master 'AI Everywhere', GenAI is emerging as a transformative force in healthcare and is set to impact workforce efficiency and hyper-personalization in the care processes.
CIOs of the healthcare sector are exploring the emerging use cases and the adoption model within their establishments, realizing the immense potential GenAI has in the future of healthcare and life sciences transformation.
Here are the other AI-driven predictions for this sector:
- GenAI PX: By the end of 2027, driven by the demand to scale hyper-personalized patient experiences, improve collaboration, and foster equity, 60 percent of Asia-Pacific healthcare organizations will double GenAI investments.
- AI Diagnostics: Driven by the need for improved diagnostic accuracy, speed, and workflow efficiency, care providers in Asia-Pacific will see a 60 percent increase in AI solution adoption by 2026.
- AI Care Anywhere: By 2027, 50 percent of the healthcare industry in Asia-Pacific will leverage GenAI to address data and workflow fragmentation across care settings to improve diagnosis and patient safety to scale care anywhere.
In addition to the overarching theme of AI, the IDC predictions cover several other themes including industry clouds, Hospital@Home (H@H), Payvider financing, integrated platforms, and the future of hospitals.
IDC has applied special attention toward optimizing healthcare sector technology investments, with a particular emphasis on enhancing operational efficiency and elevating patient outcomes.
- Industry Clouds: Driven by the perceived value of purpose-built functionalities for healthcare, 40 percent of healthcare organizations in Asia-Pacific will adopt industry clouds by 2025.
- Payvider Financing: By 2026, 45 percent of Asia-Pacific private health insurance companies and 75 percent of U.S. health systems will be "payviders" to improve risk management and address the rising cost of care.
- H@H: By 2026, a doubling of hospital-at-home patients will propel a 55 percent growth in investments in tech-enabled integrated care initiatives to address patient safety, workforce, and care access concerns in Asia-Pacific.
- Techquity: By 2028, 60 percent of the healthcare industry in Asia-Pacific will prioritize tech partnerships that champion "techquity," reducing the digital divide and recognizing social determinants of health as vital influencers.
- Integrated Platforms: Personalized health data platforms will support 50 percent of covered patients in advanced economies by 2028 while building more accurate patient journey simulations for providers and life science companies in Asia-Pacific.
- Future of Hospitals: By 2029, hospital investments in sustainability and modernization will increase by 50 percent, driven by the need to reduce costs, improve quality of care, and enhance organizational resiliency in Asia-Pacific.
"Equitable healthcare has always been a big headache for the healthcare sector, but the evolution of technology, such as AI, will provide viable means to reduce the gaps in digital healthcare," said Louise Francis, head of public sector research at IDC.
According to the IDC assessment, the emergence of the concept of "Techquity" highlights how technology will provide the bridge to enabling equitable access to healthcare services over the next five years.
IDC analysts believe that the Asia-Pacific healthcare sector is at a seminal moment, defined by a patient-centric care model combined with an AI Everywhere approach.
Outlook for GenAI Applications Growth in Healthcare
With the advent of GenAI and the need for consumerization of care, the next five years are set to be the defining period for the healthcare sector, and we are currently at the starting point of this exciting journey.
Healthcare providers in the region tend to prioritize investments in data management, AI, and automation, targeting decentralized care and patient outcomes, supported by enhanced clinician efficiency.
In the healthcare sector, the unique risks associated with AI are significant, which necessitates a greater focus on explainability and data security. However, those key concerns must not inhibit progress.
That said, I believe delaying GenAI integration risks falling behind in a rapidly evolving healthcare transformation landscape, jeopardizing competitiveness, and missing out on the potential to save lives, reduce costs, and revolutionize patient care.