Health Technologies

Exploring key health tech trends for 2025

AI-powered workforce optimisation, data integration and accessibility in healthcare systems and digital therapeutics for mental health will be among key health tech trends of 2025, experts predict.

This year, health tech has seen a number of developing trends in the digital health market, including digital diagnostics, therapeutics and care, alongside consumer apps, wearable sensors, remote monitoring, and personalised medicine advancement.

2025 is set to be no different, with technology accelerating the field of healthcare to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

According to experts, workforce optimisation, data integration and digital solutions for mental health services that are currently overstretched will be top of the agenda for the coming year.

Technology will cool the staffing debate

Dr Anas Nader, co-founder and CEO at Patchwork Health, suggests that 2025 will see a rising pressure to meaningfully address the NHS workforce crisis.

“Staff are at their limit; they can’t wait another year for solutions,” said Nader.

“As we move into 2025, there will be rising pressure to meaningfully address the NHS workforce crisis. Staff are at their limit; they can’t wait another year for solutions. And recent months have seen discussions on this issue reach fever pitch.

“Government ministers have called for a “clamp down” on agency spend, the role of MAPs is coming under intense scrutiny, and staff retention remains at critical levels. There is no time to waste.

“The good news is that there is already technology in place that could ease some of this pressure. From algorithms that optimise rotas, to tech-powered collaborative staffing banks, innovations in health tech have already shown their potential to dramatically improve staffing levels, drive down reliance on third-party agencies, and unlock better work-life balance for clinicians.

“Our challenge over the next year is to implement these tools at scale to significantly drive down workforce costs, improve the wellbeing of clinicians for the long-term and meet fluctuating patient demand across systems.

“I’m confident that tech can play a tangible, immediate role in driving this progress and restoring balance to our staffing realities in 2025 and beyond.”

Data visibility will become a priority

Nader also suggests that innovation needs to be fostered in the NHS to ensure a transition to digital services, however, notes there are a number of obstacles.

“The government has made no secret of its ambition to press on with the transition from analogue to digital across the NHS next year. While most people are broadly supportive of the idea in theory, there are several obstacles to overcome in practice,” said Nader.

“The Darzi report revealed that the majority of healthcare staff continued to see technology as an “additional burden” on their workload in 2024. If we are serious about fostering genuine innovation in the NHS, we must focus our efforts on ensuring that the tools we introduce are as user-friendly as possible for those who rely on them.

“To that end, improving the way we surface and process data will become a top priority in 2025. Our health service is perched on a goldmine of operational, staff and patient data which has the potential to transform everything from workforce deployment to the way we manage patient records.

“The current problem is that this information is rarely connected or easily accessible, creating silos and making it difficult for staff to understand or use. By surfacing and analysing this data more effectively through the power of technology, we can offer critical insights to those on the ground, giving them the tools they need to drive real change on the frontline.”

Digital solutions for mental health

Mental health services continue to be stretched thin, with long waiting lists meaning some people are waiting years for mental health support.

Manjul Rathee, founder and CEO at BFB Labs, says 2025 should see more investment in remote mental healthcare solutions, delivered using technology.

“Currently, demand for mental healthcare far outstrips supply: as of March 2024, more than a quarter of a million (270,300) children and young people were waiting for mental health support after being referred to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services,” said Rathee.

“The statistics for adults are similarly bleak. Whilst in-person interventions like therapy have a critical role to play, confining mental health support to weekly one-to-one sessions doesn’t always go deep enough; and face-to-face support is difficult to scale.

“Digital therapeutics can provide support before or in between other interventions, enabling people to access care sooner and improving outcomes.

“I also hope we’ll see an increase in the use of AI for triaging patients and providing advice. But for mental health at least, I currently believe AI will hit a utility glass ceiling due to the huge amount of variation and nuance in how mental health conditions present themselves. I may be proven wrong as the technology improves.”

Solving everyday problems in health tech

Julia Hawkins, general partner at LocalGlobe says that health tech founders often aim to solve the biggest challenges in healthcare, but they also need to solve everyday, administrative problems.

Hawkins said: “In 2025, startups that focus on improving efficiency and productivity will secure a greater share of funding. We’re big believers that bottom-up innovation can scale faster and more sustainably than top-down approaches.

“AccuRx is a prime example. It succeeded by having an excellent product solving the issue of communication between doctors and patients and scaled via referral because it delivered tangible value.”

Deep tech and cross-industry innovation

Deep tech innovation such as AI will see further adoption and acceleration in healthcare.

“Deep tech startups are increasingly focusing on technologies and skills that span multiple disciplines to deliver innovation for a range of challenges, from climate change to health equity. New Palo Alto has world-leading research and entrepreneurial talent that can commercialise cutting edge science and innovation,” says Heiko Claussen, co-CTO at Aspen Technology·

“There is a great opportunity for European companies to lead at the intersection of AI, biology, chemistry, engineering and design to develop solutions with cross-industry applications and investors are increasingly committed in this area, bringing the power of software to reinforce real world applications.”

Claussen also says that, despite initial hesitancy, AI adoption will accelerate among utilities.

“Utilities are expected to maintain a nearly perfect reliability record for the critical grid infrastructure they operate, often making them slower to adopt disruptive technologies like AI,” said Claussen.

“In 2025, utilities will prioritise the adoption of AI algorithms that are specifically created to help the industry manage grid complexity with safety and reliability top of mind. AI can help utilities recognise and learn from patterns within extensive grid data, such as forecasting for renewables to help make better predictions based on weather patterns and historic behavior.

“With the right guidelines in place, AI will be a critical tool in helping utilities create efficiencies as they navigate the energy transition and manage an increasingly complicated grid. Industrial AI will gain attention for its energy efficiency benefits. By now, it’s common knowledge that AI has significant energy demands that are putting a strain on the grid and data centers. But, not all AI’s power demands are the same.

“For example, Industrial AI, which combines domain expertise and engineering fundamentals with AI, is more narrowly focused with smaller models, which means it is more data efficient and requires far less power. In addition to its energy efficiency benefits, industrial companies are turning to Industrial AI for agility, guidance and automation, such as helping companies avoid unplanned plan shutdowns or enhancing operational decision support for users.·

“Executives will embrace the disruptive power of AI to establish a competitive edge. While many industries have been conservative about data-driven approaches and AI in the past, 2025 will be the year companies prioritise fit-for-purpose AI investments that mitigate AI adoption concerns and drive tangible value.

“For instance, Industrial AI combines AI with domain expertise and engineering fundamentals for guardrails, robustness and trusted results. It is uniquely equipped to accommodate the complex and essential requirements asset-intensive industries like oil and gas have for safety, reliability and environmental stewardship.

“In 2025, executives will gravitate toward AI they can implement confidently for a competitive advantage with efficiency, optimisation, and decision-making support.”

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