10 trends and technological advances in healthcare that will be the talk of 2017

Robotic surgery, 3D simulation, the internet of things, medical marketing, the social rise of wellness and ‘health friendly’… Top Doctors® experts analyze the keys to technological research and development, as well as the key healthcare trends of the coming years.

What are the main trends and advances in the area of health that will be the talk of 2017? With the help of its specialists, Top Doctors®, the leading digital platform for identifying top doctors and medical centers, takes a look at the key research and technological developments, as well as the health trends that will play an important role in the coming years.

1. Robotic surgery

Operating rooms are becoming increasingly intelligent and doctors are being equipped with digital tools that make their movements much more accurate. The main driver of this aspect today is the Da Vinci Robot, a machine already available in at least 24 Spanish operating rooms that has several millimeter-precision arms that the surgeon can operate on the patient from the other side of the room, although he could do so from any other city or country. “In urology, for example, robotic surgery, and more specifically robotic prostatectomy used in prostate cancer, has been confirmed as highly effective and with minimal adverse effects. It is performed in the most advanced hospitals in the world and our Hospital’s experience corroborates this”, assures Dr. Moncada Iribarren, Head of the Urology Department at the Hospital de La Zarzuela in Madrid, and member of Top Doctors.

2. Simulation and 3D printing

Healthcare, like other pioneering industries, has jumped on the 3D simulation bandwagon, and both biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and research organizations are committed to this technique, which makes it possible to accelerate the design and development of products, treatments or surgical processes prior to the actual intervention. In this way, it is possible to evaluate the results in advance and multiply the possibilities of personalization and efficacy ratios of treatments and processes. According to the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC), the in silico (computer-based) research model could represent more than 50% of the clinical trials of the future. The latest advances in 3D printing have made possible the appearance of devices such as hearing aids or dental or cardiac prostheses. The printing of personalized bone structures is currently being investigated.

3. Wearables and the internet of things

Beyond the bracelets and smart watches that allow athletes to monitor their physical condition, wearable devices are an important medical tool for the safety and monitoring of patients undergoing treatment, and for assisting the elderly or disabled. Among the many possibilities of wearables is the ability to send information directly to the physician for faster and better monitoring of dependent or chronic patients. “They represent a very important advance, because medicine is increasingly oriented towards patients improving their self-care, and if they do not have data they cannot take care of themselves,” explains Dr. Ignacio Llorente Gómez de Segura, Head of the Outpatient Endocrinology and Nutrition Section at the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria, and member of Top Doctors. “The main challenge of this technology is to continuously advance the accuracy and precision of the results.”

4. Big data in healthcare

Thanks to the large-scale data analysis provided by new technologies, the healthcare system can multiply its knowledge at different levels (clinical, social, administrative, care, hospital…) in order to become more efficient and effective. It is also an incredible asset for research, which can access and structure increasingly precise and personalized results, with millions of variables.

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5. Medical marketing and 24-hour online appointments

The Internet and new technologies have revolutionized the relationship between the doctor and the patient, who has become digitalized. He searches the Internet for information on diseases and checks the diagnoses given to him by his doctor. He searches to find the best specialists, compares and reviews other patients’ evaluations. As a result, more and more doctors are going digital, communicating about their profession and taking their practice online. “Studies show that having an online appointment booking system that allows you to make, reschedule or cancel appointments at any time of the day from your phone or computer increases the number of appointments with your doctor,” says Alberto Porciani, CEO of Top Doctors.

6. Accessibility to medical quality and better healthcare professionals

More and more health websites and applications are becoming available to patients. Applications such as Top Doctors®, which makes it possible to find and request a consultation easily from any device with the highest level of certified doctors in our country. This type of app allows you to have at your fingertips and save in personal sites a list of specialists and medical centers, the doctors’ files, their careers, curricula, merits and evaluations, as well as all kinds of specialized health content.

7. Social awareness and the rise of wellness and health friendliness

Wellness and health care has gone from being a New Year’s resolution to being part of our daily priorities. Fashion is evolving and becoming a way of life, gaining more and more followers who join the practice of sports and healthy eating. In fact, it is a goal that is increasingly encouraged in our society, whose future is heading towards the achievement of a sustainable and ‘health friendly’ city.

8. Pursuit of emotional health and happiness

Science has demonstrated the need to develop a higher level of inner awareness as the only way to happiness. “Little by little, this aspect is becoming relevant in sectors as important as education, where they are beginning to contemplate and study competencies such as personal growth from the point of view of emotional control and thus overcome the concepts of intellectual or labor competitiveness that prevail in our society today,” says Marina Bassas, Marina Bassas Vivó, clinical psychologist and member of Top Doctors “It is about achieving a healthy future society from childhood.”

9. Donations and transplants

Spain beat its own record for organ donation and transplants in 2016. In total, 4,818 transplants were performed thanks to the generosity of 2,018 donors. The waiting list, moreover, was reduced for almost all organs. According to studies, Spanish citizens are the most likely in the world to have access to a transplant when they need it, since the donation rate reached 43 donors per million inhabitants.

10. Boom in medical and wellness tourism

It is becoming increasingly common for tourists to include health experiences in their trips, as they see their vacations as a true rest. They are looking for places where they can enjoy cultural activities, but also where they can develop wellbeing and receive therapeutic, beauty or recovery treatments. It is also increasingly common for foreigners to demand Spanish experts in specialized areas such as Dermatology, Assisted Reproduction, Gynecology and Aesthetic Medicine. According to Top Doctors data, international demand is centered mainly in tourist areas such as the Balearic Islands, Alicante or Costa del Sol, large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia, those bordering Portugal or recognized as Navarra for its prestige in certain medical specialties.