Healthcare trends of 2022

U.S.-based digital health startups brought in almost $30 billion in 2021, nearly doubling the total investment from the prior year. Market watchers are wary on making forecasts that 2022 will break that record, but most are optimistic.

Jan. 31, 2022

Leveraging the value of virtual care data

Healthcare organizations need data-driven dashboards to empower providers with successful insights. 

Jan. 31, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Amid mounting interest and investment in the space, it's clear AI’s applications in healthcare will only continue to grow.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Uber Health appoints first chief medical officer

Michael Cantor is a geriatrician with more than two decades of experience in the healthcare industry.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 26, 2022

The shifting digital health investment landscape in 2022

Signs point toward another historic year in VC investment, experts say, which will benefit the medical system as it evolves to include more digital services.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 25, 2022

The future of ONC's interoperability framework hinges on adoption. But the agency — and industry — is optimistic

The government can't require anyone to adopt TEFCA, raising concerns it won't see enough voluntary uptake to create the coast-to-coast interoperability network envisaged by ONC.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 21, 2022

IBM to sell Watson Health division to private equity firm

Despite the computing giant's lofty aspirations for AI applications in medical research and clinical decisionmaking, Watson Health fell short and is now being sold for an undisclosed amount.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 21, 2022

How telehealth could be an equitable 'bridge to care' in a post-pandemic world

Much has been made of the technology's advantages, but it has its share of challenges when it comes to accessibility, experts said.

By Ryan Golden • Jan. 20, 2022

Study finds racial bias in how clinicians describe patients in medical records

Black patients were 2.5 times more likely to have one or more negative descriptor such as "noncompliant" or "aggressive" in their EHR compared with White patients, researchers found.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 20, 2022

Digital therapeutics face barriers to growth as Pear takes early steps toward sales targets

Pear Therapeutics is the first company to receive FDA clearance for a prescription digital therapeutic, but a recent report highlights challenges it and other DTx companies face.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 20, 2022

Cybersecurity leads ECRI's list of top medtech hazards for 2022

Cyber incidents can compromise patient care and attacks against hospitals have become more prevalent in recent years. However, ECRI said the worst consequences are preventable.

By Elise Reuter • Jan. 19, 2022

Biden administration publishes long-awaited TEFCA interoperability framework

After TEFCA's many fits and starts, ONC head Micky Tripathi called its finalization a "milestone" marking the beginning of a "new era of electronic health information exchange in the U.S."

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 18, 2022

Why your growth depends on an EHR integration strategy and 8 steps to get you there

Eight project steps that every data integration requires, from planning to go-live to scaling.

Jan. 18, 2022

Neurological devices, diagnostics dominate latest FDA breakthrough designations

The agency has granted breakthrough designations to several devices for neurological conditions, including an autism test and treatment as well as diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 13, 2022

Teladoc ups revenue, visit expectations for 2021

Despite consistent revenue growth with an expected topline of $2.03 billion for the year, the 20-year-old vendor has not yet turned a profit and is currently facing a skeptical market.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 11, 2022

Digital health funding reaches record $29.1B in 2021

"The digital health market wasn't an across-the-board bubble, but it wasn't placid water either," Rock Health researchers said in a new report on investment in the space.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 11, 2022

Stryker to buy Vocera Communications for nearly $3B

The multibillion-dollar buy is medtech's first major deal of 2022, following a spending spree in the sector last year. Stryker's stock price was slightly down Thursday, but Vocera's rose by nearly 27%.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 6, 2022

J&J device chief on company split, omicron surge, robotic surgery

Ashley McEvoy is confident that 2022 will not be as bad as the first or second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the omicron variant drives cases up, but adds that "we're not out of the woods yet."

By Ricky Zipp • Dec. 23, 2021

FDA warns about Log4j cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices

The bugs in Apache's Java-based open source logging library could potentially allow unauthorized users to remotely impact the safety and effectiveness of device functionality, according to the agency.

By Greg Slabodkin • Dec. 20, 2021

Cerner acquired by Oracle for $28B

The deal further pushes Oracle into the healthcare market, where its presence is mostly in data use efficiency for payers and providers. Oracle's areas of focus include database software and cloud systems.

By Shannon Muchmore • Dec. 20, 2021

FDA finds 3 COVID-19 tests that fail to detect the omicron variant

Diagnostics from Applied DNA Sciences, Meridian Bioscience and Tide Laboratories are not able to detect omicron, causing false negative results, and should not be used, the agency said.

By Greg Slabodkin • Dec. 16, 2021

3 medtech markets poised to thrive in 2022 despite renewed COVID-19 pressures

While the emergence of the omicron variant is muddying next year's medtech outlook, analysts have identified three niches within the sector best positioned to successfully weather the continued strains on the healthcare system.

By Susan Kelly • Dec. 15, 2021

Study finds surgery volumes bounced back after 2020 COVID-19 shutdown

But more recently, confounding factors such as healthcare staffing shortages are causing the delta variant headwind to drag on. Rapidly increasing inpatient volumes are leading some U.S. hospitals to again delay surgical procedures.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Dec. 9, 2021

COVID-19 drops out of top telehealth diagnoses in September even as virtual care use rises

National telehealth use, measured as a percentage of all medical claims, rose more than 2% in September for the second straight month as the delta variant surged, following a sustained period of decline early this year.

By Rebecca Pifer • Dec. 7, 2021

Medicare telehealth visits increased 63-fold from 2019 to 2020, new government data shows

Virtual visits for Medicare beneficiaries went from hundreds of thousands pre-pandemic to tens of millions in 2020, with many beneficiaries using telehealth for the first time.

By Rebecca Pifer • Dec. 6, 2021

Are you leaving your FHIR API front door unlocked?

Research shows FHIR APIs come with major security vulnerabilities — here's how to protect your data.

Dec. 6, 2021