A few weeks ago, we attended the world’s most exciting trade show, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. We walked miles on the show floor exploring the latest innovations on display and attended the Digital Health Summit, keeping our eyes and ears open to trends in technology, particularly ones that have potential for scalable innovation in healthcare. In this paper, we’ve identified 4 technology trends from CES 2020, and 4 ways that we believe these trends will propel digital health forward in 2020 and beyond.

At Omnicom Health Group, one way we stay abreast of marketing trends is by attending conferences that merge creativity and digital technology through innovative thinking. Throughout 2019, we’ve attended numerous conferences and heard from other leaders in the pharmaceutical marketing space regarding the latest communication trends and how the digital technology landscape is evolving for both pharma companies and their marketers.

The evolution of the idea that every company is a technology company to “every company is a data company” is becoming more apparent. Leading tech firms like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have increasingly offered free or nearly free services to end users in exchange for capturing and monetizing the data collected. However, did the power of harnessing data to enhance product value come at the expense of consumer privacy?

Over the last few years at Omnicom Health Group, we’ve tracked digital trends that have been shaping the healthcare space. The top digital trends that we monitor are ones that influence outcomes for patients and healthcare organizations. During the first half of 2019, we have seen evidence of 5 trends that are impacting healthcare delivery and marketing communications. But what may surprise you is that the number one trend is not a technology, but rather a principle.

In the latest episode of the Patients & Purpose Healthy Perspectives podcast, Jo Ann Saitta, Chief Digital Officer of Omnicom Health Group, sat down with Jamie Feld and Wayne Rodgers to share the most interesting healthcare inventions and themes from the 2019 CES show.

The process of gathering and analyzing information on healthcare customers has been vastly transformed by digital and data. Never before have companies been able to view and analyze customers’ detailed digital activities in such depth, providing them with the opportunity to build deeper intelligence and more effective relationships.

There’s no question we have an overwhelming amount of data in our world today but what we really need to solve healthcare communication problems is the right data.

With transformative advancements in data technology circumventing previous limitations, now more than ever, we are reminded that “with great power comes great responsibility.” The revelations from the case of Cambridge Analytica serve as a learning opportunity and reminder for us at Omnicom Health Group to strive for innovative data-driven solutions, while maintaining high ethical standards and respect for privacy. Here we discuss the lasting impact of Cambridge Analytica as the catalyst for the conversation of which players should be responsible for data sharing. By staying true to our ideals of respect for privacy and beneficence, we believe that the proliferation of innovative data technology may continue to thrive through relationships founded on transparency and accountability.

A revolution is brewing in healthcare. Traditional models of healthcare that center around reactive care beleaguered by rising costs and inconsistent outcomes are causing healthcare entities to look for ways to improve how health care is managed and when—meaning, in response to a health complication or proactively. As medical research is helping us better understand the onset of diseases and other health complications, at Omnicom Health Group, we believe that wearable tech has the potential to equip health care systems to provide proactive and preventive care that drive down costs and improve the health of populations.

At Omnicom Health Group, one way we stay abreast of technology trends is to attend conferences that merge creativity and tech. At the 2018 South by Southwest (SXSW) event, we witnessed and experienced disruptions in technology that will impact not only how we physically interact with our environment, but also how we can build a greater sense of empathy for each other. The usual suspects were abundant (eg, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and sensors), but the way they’re now being used to generate closer empathetic connections will change how we understand and manage our health.

We believe that technology has already transformed healthcare, from research and clinical trials, to treatment modalities and overall wellness. The momentum continues as healthcare remains a fertile ground for innovation. Enter two of the latest “bleeding edge” technologies with blockchain and cryptocurrency. Omnicom Health Group previously released a thought leadership paper on blockchain, and in this month’s issue, we discuss the potential impact of cryptocurrency on healthcare and answer questions such as, What is cryptocurrency? Will it enable greater insights from patient data? Can this technology accelerate drug access and increase adherence? The potential impacts to healthcare are vast!

At Omnicom Health Group, we’ve read a lot of digital trend reports for 2018, and picked the top five areas that have been evolving rapidly in the healthcare space over the last two years. To help keep you better informed, we have included references and links with rich resources in all five areas. We expect that in 2018, these technological innovations will allow for more efficient care coordination, evolve how patients are treated, and improve healthcare delivery and communications.

At Omnicom Health Group, we’ve observed that facial recognition is not only pervasive across consumer devices (eg., accessing smartphones), but that healthcare is also rapidly applying the technology for its stakeholders.

At Omnicom Health Group, we understand that the Blockchain technology is a hot topic in industries such as financial services, but we also know that healthcare is planning the most aggressive deployments to solve challenging problems like getting patient health records to connect. Executives in healthcare and life science organizations are turning their attention to Blockchain as a solution to improving patient experiences along the care continuum.

At Omnicom Health Group, we believe that current technologies such as biometric sensors have the ability to revolutionize patient care and diagnosis when they’re combined with the revolutionary problem-solving tools called quantum computing. We would like to know what you think.

Robots are no longer science fiction. At Omnicom Health Group (OHG), we understand that robots are becoming more affordable, accessible, and easily integrated into our daily lives. In the healthcare space, we are beginning to see robots with real world applicability in the home, as well as chatbots that enable physicians and patients to more readily access the information they need.

The Lions Health MedTech Expo, sponsored by Omnicom Health Group (OHG) and Lions Health, returned to Cannes Lions for a second year to showcase the most innovative companies in medical technology from around the world at this year’s festival.

Omnicom Health Group operates at the intersection of digital health, technology advancements, and culture. We are committed to finding new opportunities to define and deliver healthcare by looking at the world through a different lens. One area that draws our focus is music.

In March, Omnicom Health Group attended SXSW 2017, which is one of the largest, most renowned interactive global conferences in the world! SXSW offers an abundance of information about the latest innovations in healthcare and medtech. Among all of the impressive new companies, technologies, and ideas at SXSW, four major medtech trends rose to the top: Artificial Intelligence, Wearables, Virtual Reality, and Data.

Capgemini Consulting and Omnicom Health Group conducted a survey with nearly 900 US healthcare providers and uncovered key trends to help Pharma companies develop strategies to compete effectively with newly available data and technology. As financial risk shifts from the payer to the provider, the pharma industry must adapt how it demonstrates the value of its products to providers. Just a few of the report’s key findings reveal the primary reliance on real-world evidence for provider treatment decisions and a call to action for pharma companies to advance more effective digital communications.

We anticipate that 2017 will not see the introduction of a “blockbuster” technology, but rather a year of growth and refinement to existing health-tech innovations. Four areas that we’re keeping a close eye on are healthcare data applications, patient focused technology that moves beyond the doctor’s office, voice recognition technology, and new messaging interfaces.

At Omnicom Health Group, we keep up with the technology trends that impact the healthcare industry. There was no better place to see the latest and greatest than at this year’s CES® held on January 5 to January 8 in Las Vegas.

Advancements in voice recognition technology have created a new user-friendly interface, one that is approachable by everyone, including those who are not tech savvy. Read more to find out how voice recognition can be used in healthcare.

This year, Omnicom Health Group and Harrison & Star were selected to showcase one of our own healthcare applications powered by the Watson cognitive platforms at the inaugural IBM World of Watson (WoW) conference.

Advancements in transdermal technology and patient-generated data are at the forefront of wearable technology. Wearables have gone beyond activity monitors, and in some cases can be sensors, monitors, and drug delivery systems.

At Omnicom Health Group, we believe that artificial intelligence and cognitive computing are transforming healthcare.

Omnicom Health Group’s technology team had a the incredible opportunity to exhibit at and lead the inaugural Lions Health MedTech Expo at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity in France in June.