Health In Sight: February 2025
 
 

February 11, 2025

Health In Sight: February 2025

Developments to watch for in healthcare this year

Artificial Intelligence — whether you’re converted, concerned, conflicted or all of the above, there will be no avoiding it this year. All the technology pundits and prognosticators say 2025 will be the year A.I. technology takes root in healthcare and everywhere. 

Part of the push to introduce A.I. and other machine learning tech comes from the need to do more with less. Many governments have empty coffers, having spent big to save as many lives as possible during the coronavirus pandemic years. As treasurers resort to budgetary belt tightening, public hospitals are feeling the squeeze. 

The pandemic continues to affect global production and supply chains, too. There’s less stuff available and it costs more. Vital medicines and hospital supplies are among the items difficult to access. Workforce shortages are ongoing. 

The cost crunch is also hitting consumers and there are daily reminders that hip pocket pain is a key driver of election results. Apart from toppling governments, cost of living pressures has led to people either abandoning private health insurance or cutting back their cover. The domino effect here is putting private hospitals at risk. The 2024 Australian Private Hospitals Association conference was warned of imminent hospital closures, with private maternity hospitals potentially facing extinction. 

While the financial headwinds swirl, populations are aging, driving up demand for healthcare, and increasing wait times and costs. So, it’s little wonder healthcare is looking to smart technology to save the day.  

While the overall proportion of people surveyed who delayed or did not use health services when needed fell over the past year, this did not apply for people with long term health conditions, or people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage, who were more likely to forgo care.

Here are other factors likely to impact healthcare in 2025.
1. America the brave

The return of President Trump has global repercussions for healthcare. Halting foreign aid funding – temporarily or otherwise – has already resulted in a shortage of HIV medications in third world countries. President Trump has repealed legislation making medications cheaper for Americans, withdrawn the USA from the World Health Organization, and appointed a man with anti-vaccination (but pro-A.I.) views to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Change is coming. 

Significant gender gaps on service usage suggests Australian men do not prioritise their health, with women more likely to present at all the healthcare services listed in the survey. For example, 87.3% of women saw a GP in 2023-24, compared to 77.7% of men. Use of telehealth fell, with the data revealing women are significantly more likely to use telehealth services than men.

To read more of the Patient Experience survey results, go to Patient Experiences, 2023-24 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics.

2. A.I everywhere

President Trump has removed restrictions that he and his advisors perceived to be hindering rapid development of A.I. technology. Despite many calling for safety and ethical guardrails on machine learning tech, it looks like it’s full steam ahead in the USA. In healthcare, the enterprise medical records systems could be under threat from A.I-powered assistants and countless new use cases for A.I. pop up daily. A few that caught our eye recently include: 

  • cameras over hospital beds to trigger falls risks warning and calculate risk of bed sores, 
  • patient-worn A.I.-powered sensors that take observations and supplement staffing in a hospital ward making do with fewer nurses, and 
  • A.I. algorithms to detect patients who are likely to be frequent fliers at Emergency Departments and trigger intervention prevention programs. 

A.I. diagnostic tools are delivering increasingly accurate data in trials, but there’s justified caution about letting the machines serve as primary decision makers.   

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) is also committing to AI technology, introducing a tech bundle called Humphrey after the character from Yes Minister, to increase NHS productivity, and make it easier for consumers to find and book appointments. Judging by the resources linked below, this approach will typify AI adoption in 2025 – deployment to reduce the administrative burden of repetitive tasks, reporting and, potentially, clinical coding. The catchphrase, “let doctors be doctors” is echoing through the halls of healthcare and resonating with time-poor clinicians complaining they spend more time on paperwork than patient care. 

This project is an example of focusing on opportunities to improve health equity, rather than just outcomes data. Cleveland’s Metro Health Institute for Hope recently posted on this issue, suggesting that asking communities how to change health outcomes may be more effective than monitoring distressing data. More detail on the Institute’s logic can be found here: Why health equity’s goal shouldn’t be outcomes

3. Virtually everywhere

The cost of keeping patients in hospital and aged care beds beds is rising so insurers, governments and healthcare companies are looking more closely at the price to keep patients in their own homes. Virtual care in the home, supported by virtual and mobile nurses, telehealth advisors and health coaches, (or South Korea’s A.I.-powered robot grandchild) is not a new concept. But the tide seems to have shifted, partly due to the competitive pricing of scalable, interoperable cloud technology supporting real time data exchange. Safe virtual care depends on finding the right patient, home and carer combinations, and the on-call ability to respond quickly to changes in health status – or patient anxiety levels. Scalability and success of this model of care will hinge on whether governments and funders can find cost-effective funding models that adequately compensate clinicians for their work.  

4. Bad actors

An increasingly digitised healthcare world attracts cyber-criminals like flies to a barbecue. Hospitals are increasingly seen as soft targets; its estimated ransomware attacks have cost US hospitals $21.9 billion in downtime since 2018. There’s also concern the introduction of A.I. systems may provide a wormhole for the crooks to tunnel through. Just as hospitals must consider ‘interactions’ between medications, they now have to look into how all their information technology systems interact and counteract cybercrime. 

5. Consumer data

Like virtual care, wearable health monitoring technology isn’t a new idea, but it is getting smaller, smarter and less intrusive. Watches and rings now offer real time insights into stress levels, oxygen saturation, pain scores, sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, infection risks, and much more. With all this extra data available, the unwell and worried well will want it to be actionable and shareable with their health teams. Health records systems with true connectivity are increasingly important. 

6. Healthcare as a community

Greater connectivity of data – enabling predictive research from aggregated, anonymous ‘data lakes’, is increasingly realistic in 2025. But secure sharing of data requires co-operation and collaboration between humans. Software and technology vendors, government procurement teams and healthcare businesses can no longer keep their heads in the sand when it comes to adopting industry data standards and thereby future-proofing interoperability. The CSIRO-led Sparked community in Australia is an excellent example of getting this right.  

Community health is holistic – social issues such as homelessness, addictions, health literacy, family and domestic violence, and access to mental health care, all impact our primary and tertiary care systems. Being able to share timely information that enables earlier interventions and more appropriate care from multidisciplinary healthcare teams, is ever more important in an ecosystem of tight budgets and time poor clinicians. 

Can technology save the day? We’ll leave the last word with the CEO of the ever-innovative Mayo Clinic, who spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Doctor Gianrico Farrugia is reported as saying the following: 

“I personally would not want to have my healthcare, in some specialties, without A.I. because I firmly believe I will get a better outcome… Shame on all of us, shame on government, if we cannot, at this moment in time, come together and create the pathways and the architecture to be able to do what we already know we can do: provide better outcomes for patients at a scale that was unimaginable a few years ago.” 

At MediRecords, we believe technology should empower healthcare professionals. That’s why we’re building AI-powered platform capabilities designed to optimise workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and make critical patient information more accessible. Contact our Sales Team to learn more about our expanding suite of AI features.

References

The US Halt In Foreign Aid ‘Could Mean Life Or Death For Millions’ 

How the US foreign aid freeze is intensifying humanitarian crises across the globe | CNN 

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/elon-musk-confirms-trump-agrees-shut-down-usaid 

Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid – The White House 

President Trump orders US to exit World Health Organization 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/ai/trump-issues-order-to-remove-ai-barriers-4-things-to-know.html 

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-touts-ai-address-problems-facing-rural-hospitals 

Health insurance: a horror week bodes ill | Health Services Daily 

Healthscope teeters one step closer to the brink | Health Services Daily 

UCSD explores AI cameras for hospital rooms 

Sibel Health to provide wireless monitoring to hospitals in Denmark | MobiHealthNews 

NHS using AI to predict frequent emergency service users 

Why Classic EMR Vendors Will Be Replaced by openEHR and AI Agents Architectures 

Providence CEO ‘totally blown away’ by OpenAI’s healthcare work 

Reducing clinicians’ administrative tasks with artificial intelligence | MobiHealthNews 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/ai/whats-next-for-healthcare-ai-in-2025.html 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-health/what-are-health-systems-top-digital-priorities.html 

‘Humphrey’ AI tool launched to streamline NHS and public services 

AI Scribing in Healthcare: Why Some Hospitals Are Pulling Ahead 

Driving momentum in healthcare technology amid dramatic change | Wolters Kluwer 

Executives forecast AI’s place in healthcare in 2025, part one | MobiHealthNews 

Executives forecast AI’s place in healthcare in 2025, part two | MobiHealthNews 

How Kaiser Permanente quadrupled its advanced-care-at-home program 

Could virtual hospitals be the solution to the broken NHS? | Digital Health 

AI care robot doll from Korea eyes US entry in 2025 | MobiHealthNews 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/news-and-analysis/dont-cannibalize-virtual-nurses-nurse-leaders-say.html 

No Going Home. Hospital at Home is a Hype Machine 

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/what-will-ai-do-telemedicine-2025-more-you-might-think 

The dark side of AI for hospitals 

Ransomware attacks cost healthcare $21.9B in downtime 

Two new smart rings unveiled at CES | MobiHealthNews 

QALO unveils new silicon smart ring | MobiHealthNews 

2024 predictions: Health tech suppliers on what’s in store 

7 Healthcare Trends That Will Transform Medicine In 2025 

8 must-have digital technologies for health systems in ’25 

‘Shame on all of us’ if we can’t get healthcare AI right: Mayo Clinic CEO 

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Health in Sight: November 2024
 
 

November 25, 2024

Health in Sight: November 2024

MediRecords reads healthcare news from around the globe so we can be well informed on innovation, developments and decisions that may affect future delivery of care. Here are some of the items that stood out in the inbox recently.

Impatient experiences

A data dump from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown some Aussies are delaying or doing without healthcare because they can’t afford it. While two thirds of people surveyed (66.4%) could access their preferred GP when needed, 11% of people in disadvantaged areas had to forgo medication or delay it due to the costs involved. And one in five Australians delayed or did not see a mental health professional because they couldn’t afford it. Significant as it is, this data may underestimate the growing gap in access to care. The Patient Experience Survey only interviewed people aged 15 or older who were usual residents of private dwellings, with the effect that people experiencing homelessness, in temporary or public housing are unlikely to have been counted.

While the overall proportion of people surveyed who delayed or did not use health services when needed fell over the past year, this did not apply for people with long term health conditions, or people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage, who were more likely to forgo care.

The survey shows GPs remain at the heart of Australian healthcare, with the proportion of people who saw a family doctor up slightly to 82.6% in 2023-24, from 82.3% in 2022-23. In contrast, only 53% saw a dental professional and 39% a medical specialist in 2023-24. Numbers of people seeing a GP for after hours care (5.2%) or urgent medical care (8.8%) were very low, while 15.3% of Australians visited a hospital emergency department in 2023-24. In outer regional, remote or very remote areas, (presumably with fewer GPs and options for after hours care,) 20.4% of people sought care at their local ED.

Significant gender gaps on service usage suggests Australian men do not prioritise their health, with women more likely to present at all the healthcare services listed in the survey. For example, 87.3% of women saw a GP in 2023-24, compared to 77.7% of men. Use of telehealth fell, with the data revealing women are significantly more likely to use telehealth services than men.

To read more of the Patient Experience survey results, go to Patient Experiences, 2023-24 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Housing-health linkages

On the subject of doing without, a Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) Health and Energy Hardship project has sounded the alarm that utility bills are no longer affordable for some households, resulting in people living without heating or cooling. VCOSS says energy hardship has demonstrable impacts on health and lists signs for healthcare professionals to watch for here: Health and Energy Hardship | VCOSS

This project is an example of focusing on opportunities to improve health equity, rather than just outcomes data. Cleveland’s Metro Health Institute for Hope recently posted on this issue, suggesting that asking communities how to change health outcomes may be more effective than monitoring distressing data. More detail on the Institute’s logic can be found here: Why health equity’s goal shouldn’t be outcomes

Cultural connections count

With Australian governments generally failing to achieve progress towards Closing the Gap targets for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (see Closing the Gap targets and outcomes | Closing the Gap), fresh approaches are clearly required. Recent University of New South Wales research may be a step in the right direction, with researchers finding that opportunities to practice culture on Country has a positive impact on “stress relief, inter-generational healing, and the journey to overcoming trauma, which in turn had a positive impact on … overall health and wellbeing.” Further details can be found here: The role of culture and connection in improving Aboriginal health :: Hospital + Healthcare

Season for change

The man who puts the flavour in demographic data, Bernard Salt, has added to the growing body of commentary suggesting the future of Australian Healthcare is in our own homes. Mr Salt told a Perth symposium that healthcare is about to be hit by the “baby boomer freight train” and “we will see the care sector redefined, re-imagined and repurposed” by this numerically and financially influential sector of our population. Health Services Daily reported the respected Mr Salt saying: “They will make it clear how their care should be delivered and the vast majority will want in-home care.” (Read more here: https://www.healthservicesdaily.com.au/future-of-care-is-in-the-home-salt/21895)

Spending to save

Whether you call them DNAs (Did not attend) or FTAs (failed to attend), a no show for a medical appointment means lost revenue and longer waitlists for patients who could have utilised the available timeslot. A partnership between Uber Health and Veteran Affairs in the US has made it easier for people to attend medical appointments by removing transportation as a reason for non-attendance. Veterans Health Administration report that 1.8 million appointments are missed annually due to transportation hurdles. Since inserting the Uber option, they say attendance has risen significantly, saving an estimated $196.7 million in missed appointments. (See VA finds medical transportation fix with Uber Health | TechTarget)

MediRecords at the coalface

As an access-anywhere cloud software system purpose-built for multidisciplinary care, MediRecords is used in a multitude of ways in Australian healthcare. These include use by paramedics; a remote mining camp; street, clinic and hospital care for people experiencing homelessness; Aboriginal health services; telehealth businesses; virtual emergency departments; alternative medication businesses and many more. Please reach out to us if you have a unique or innovative use of MediRecords you would like to showcase.

Tim Pegler

Senior Business Development Manager

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Homelessness Awareness Week: The housing-health nexus
 

August 06, 2024

Homelessness Awareness Week: The housing-health nexus

Tonight almost 122,500 Australians will have nowhere safe and secure to sleep, the most recent census data shows. One in seven of them will be children under 12.

In 2022-23, 273,600 people were assisted by homelessness services, with another 108,000 unable to be assisted due to insufficient staff, accommodation or resources. In the group who could not be supported by overstretched services, 80 per cent were women and children, many of whom were fleeing domestic and family violence, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

This week, Homelessness Awareness Week, the national peak body for homelessness, Homelessness Australia, is calling for the changes that could turn the tide of homelessness, including:

  • Increasing social housing to 10% of all housing;
  • Increasing funding to homelessness services to meet need; and
  • Increasing income support payments to at least $80 a day.

This week also serves as a stark reminder of the health difficulties faced by people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Studies in Australia and internationally have found about 60% of PEH have a long-term physical condition or long-term mental health conditions – higher than the population who do not experience homelessness.

The health disparities of PEH and a revolving hospital door — PEH are 43% more likely to reattend emergency departments within 28 days — reflect the social circumstances that have contributed to the experience of homelessness.

A wide-ranging review study this year, led by Jean-Phillipe Miller at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, argued that while PEH were often viewed by healthcare services as “hard to reach”, it is the services themselves that are difficult to access for this vulnerable group. 

By bringing healthcare directly to those in need, outreach programs, such as primary healthcare service outreach programs, offer a promising solution. A UK study found they can help bridge the gap between the homeless and essential health services. 

Homeless Healthcare in Perth is one such service, providing outreach health care to PEH on the streets, along with fixed site clinics and a 20-bed inpatient facility.

CEO Alison Sayer said Homeless Healthcare provides services where they are most needed, creating an alternative to busy public emergency departments.

She said Homeless Healthcare supported over 2500 people in 2023, many of whom had multiple health conditions.

Ms Sayer said, “People experiencing homelessness have an average life expectancy of less than 50 years, a stark contrast to the average Australian who can expect to live into their 80s.

“This disparity largely exists due to the many barriers preventing people experiencing homelessness from accessing healthcare. Health problems are among the most significant factors leading to and perpetuating homelessness.” 

MediRecords is proud to support the work of Homeless Healthcare as the electronic health record system for inpatient and outpatient care.

You can help make a difference by donating to Homeless Healthcare today – donate here. 

Sources and further reading:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023). Health of people experiencing homelessness. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/health-of-people-experiencing-homelessness

Homelessness Australia. (2023). Home. https://homelessnessaustralia.org.au/

Kopanitsa, V., McWilliams, S., Leung, R., Schischa, B., Sarela, S., Perelmuter, S., Sheeran, E., Mourgue, L., Tan, G. C., & Rosenthal, D. M. (2023). A systematic scoping review of primary health care service outreach for homeless populations. Family Practice, 40(1), 138-151. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmac075

Lee, S., Thomas, P., Newnham, H., Freidin, J., Smith, C., Lowthian, J., Borghmans, F., Gocentas, R. A., De Silva, D., & Stafrace, S. (2019). Homeless status documentation at a metropolitan hospital emergency department. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 31, 639–645.

Miller, J. P., Hutton, J., Doherty, C., & Holmes, C. (2024). A scoping review examining patient experience and what matters to people experiencing homelessness when seeking healthcare. BMC Health Services Research, 24(492). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10971-8

Morrison, D. S. (2009). Homelessness as an independent risk factor for mortality: Results from a retrospective cohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(3), 877–883. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyp160

Queen, A. B., Lowrie, R., Richardson, J., & Williamson, A. E. (2017). Multimorbidity, disadvantage, and patient engagement within a specialist homeless health service in the UK: An in-depth study of general practice data. BJGP Open, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgpopen17X100941

Wood, L., Wood, N. J. R., Vallesi, S., Stafford, A., Davies, A., & Cumming, C. (2019). Hospital collaboration with a housing first program to improve health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. Housing, Care and Support, 22(1), 27–39.

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