The books are officially closed on another record-breaking year in digital health. And what a year 2021 was. According to Rock Health’s annual funding report, startups raised $29.1 billion across 729 deals, nearly doubling the $14.9 billion former record high in 2020.

Digital health startups offering mental health guidance maintained their spot as top money raisers, bringing in $5.1 billion — $3.3 billion more than any other clinical indication in 2021, and nearly double the 2020 funding total of $2.7 billion. Funding for diabetes care and musculoskeletal care was up, as was investment in digital health companies catalyzing research and development in biopharma and medtech ($5.8 billion in funding) stimulated by the COVID-accelerated adoption of real-world evidence and decentralized trials. Investments in digital products supporting disease treatment also grew nearly 300% from 2020 to 2021, riding the wave of digital therapeutics.

In recent years healthcare tech has closed the gap and produced innovations to help solve critical challenges associated with quality of care, patient experience and engagement, costs, physician burnout, provider/payer/patient relationships, interoperability and many more.

As we continue to closely monitor these and other digital health and HIT developments in 2022 and how they will shape both the industry and our clients across the PAN Communications healthcare portfolio, all eyes turn to HIMSS22. As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and people, businesses and industries begin to “return to normal,” we expect thousands to once again make the pilgrimage to Orlando — with more tuning in to HIMSS22 Digital — to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in health information and technology.

The 2022 theme “Reimagine Health” is a perfect fit given the state of the healthcare industry today. Once considered a technology laggard compared to its retail, banking and other industry peers, healthcare has made tremendous strides — some of which were further accelerated by the COVID pandemic. In recent years healthcare tech has closed the gap and produced innovations to help solve critical challenges associated with quality of care, patient experience and engagement, costs, physician burnout, provider/payer/patient relationships, interoperability and many more to put the industry on par with what people have come to expect (and get) in all other facets of their lives.

And now, given the progress the industry has made coupled with the advancement of the necessary technology underpinnings, the time is ripe to totally reimagine what is next and just how far healthcare can go.

As part of its curriculum, HIMSS22 will be exploring several key top-of-mind issues and challenges including care, data and information, technology, policy, and others. As we look forward to the conference through the lens of these areas of focus and the topics currently shaping the industry, here are a few of the conversations our healthcare team at PAN Communications will be watching closely:

Dan Martin, Executive Vice President

• Telemedicine and Virtual Care. Technological advances, reimbursement, public health emergency (PHE) extensions/legislation, specialized virtual care clinics for high-cost conditions (kidney, MSK, etc.), remote patient monitoring.
• Precision Medicine. Wearable technologies, genomics, advancements in and adoption of AI.
• Chronic Condition Management. Technologies capitalizing on the need to manage costly, pervasive conditions, free up physicians and enable care at scale.
• Mental Health. Digital mental health and virtual behavioral health services, mobile mental health apps for both patients and healthcare workers.
• Digital Therapeutics (DTx). Patient data security, new disease states, reimbursement.

Kath Arrigg, Director

• The Healthcare Staffing Crisis. How technology can help to alleviate the immense burden felt by staffing shortages across the continuum of care. While the problem existed before COVID, the pandemic has certainly progressed an already dire situation. How can technology solutions help to fill the gap?

Paige Romine, Account Supervisor

• Full-Scale Digital Care Partners. Moving beyond point solutions to all-in-one-solutions hospitals and health systems can partner with to address the most pressing ambulatory, patient care and provider needs.
• Automated Care. Chat bots, automated care interactions, patient texts, communication and reminders.

Travis VanHorn, Senior Account Executive

• Value-Based Care. How the future of digital health is driving the future of “value over volume.”
• Revenue Cycle Management. Labor and staffing shortages, intelligent operations, shrinking margins, workflow, and a post-pandemic financial future.
• Cybersecurity and Privacy. Data theft and protection, increasing data breaches, and the need to protect patient information.
• Consumerization of Healthcare. Direct-to-consumer services, a growing focus on the patient experience, and the need for convenient care access.

At PAN we’re laser focused on helping our clients tell their stories, disrupt markets and create competitive differentiation. A major thrust of all our client programs is industry listening and monitoring to help capitalize on trends and conversations taking place in their industries and inserting their POVs. As HIMSS takes place we’ll be tracking key discussions, topics and trends closely so be sure to follow us on Twitter at @PANcomm or check us out on LinkedIn to stay up to speed on the people and topics making an impact.

If you’re looking to elevate brand visibility, establish thought leadership and implement a strategic IM and PR program to move the sales needle and achieve your business goals we’d love to work with you.

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