Health Care Trends Research Articles

Applying AI in the Healthcare Sector: Difficulties

Artificial intelligence (AI) broadly speaking refers to any behavior shown by a computer or system that is similar to that of a person. Computers can learn from data without explicit human programming thanks to a kind of artificial intelligence known as "machine learning". The application of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in medicine is one of the most important current trends in global healthcare. Artificial intelligence-based technologies are radically changing the global healthcare system by allowing for a drastic rebuilding of the medical diagnostics system and a corresponding decrease in healthcare costs. Prior to beginning treatment, an illness must be classified into which class of disorders it belongs. It is possible to classify the disease kind according to the feature space of the ailment. Machine learning algorithms can help with this problem.

Role of leadership management and organizational work culture on electronic medical records in the Indonesian health service sector

Introduction An international trend in health care is the use of information technology, particularly electronic medical records (EMR). Electronic medical records are increasingly being filled out incorrectly, which does not reflect a standard implementation. In the meantime, the number of pandemic victims increases each month. The goal of this study was to examine the importance of human resources, infrastructure, leadership, governance, and organizational work culture in the implementation of electronic medical records. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study utilizing a quantitative descriptive methodology and was statistically evaluated using the Partial Least Square technique (PLS), a part of variant-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Convergent and discriminant validity of the indicators and composite reliability for indicator blocks were used to evaluate the measurement or Outer Model with reflecting indicators. Results: The findings showed that positive EMR readiness was primarily associated with male officers who were 36 to 42 years old, had a university degree, and had been employed for more than five years. T-statistic values for organizational work culture and leadership management are 3.077 and 2.218, respectively, with means greater than 1.96. Meanwhile, the means for infrastructure and human resources are 1.96 and 0.942, respectively. Conclusion: Organizational work culture and leadership management have a significant effect on EMR readiness in hospitals compared to human resources and infrastructure with opposite results.

Trends in the primary healthcare nursing workforce in managing diabetes from two sample surveys in 2006-2008 and 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand.

To examine trends in the primary healthcare nursing workforce and their community management of diabetes. Two representative surveys were carried out in 2006-2008 and 2016 among all primary healthcare nurses in Auckland. Nurses were randomly selected, and 26% (n=287) and 24% (n=336) completed a self-administered questionnaire and telephone survey. Biographical information, knowledge of diabetes, how valued nurses felt and diabetes care for patients was provided. Between surveys, numbers of practice nurses have significantly increased, and specialist nurse numbers decreased, while district nurse numbers remained the same. In 2016, practice nurses were younger, more ethnically diverse, more likely to undertake education and had increased knowledge of diabetes and diabetes-related complications (including stroke) compared to nurses in 2006-2008. More nurses consulted patients, conducted foot examinations, addressed serum glucose, medication management, tobacco use and followed up care independently of doctors. In 2016, only 37% of nurses felt sufficiently knowledgeable to discuss medications with patients, <20% could state that hypertension, smoking and dyslipidaemia were major risk factors for complications, and less nurses felt valued. Practice nurses have increased their capacity in diabetes management following global trends and require more support in meeting the complex healthcare needs of people with diabetes.

A chat about actinic keratosis: Examining capabilities and user experience of ChatGPT as a digital health technology in dermato‐oncology

AbstractBackgroundThe potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in dermatology are evolving rapidly. Chatbots are an emerging trend in healthcare that rely on large language models (LLMs) to generate answers to prompts from users. However, the factuality and user experience (UX) of such chatbots remain to be evaluated in the context of dermato‐oncology.ObjectivesTo examine the potential of Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT) as a reliable source of information in the context of actinic keratosis (AK) and to evaluate clinicians' attitudes and UX with regard to the chatbot.MethodsA set of 38 clinical questions were compiled and entered as natural language queries in separate, individual conversation threads in ChatGPT (OpenAI, default GPT 3.5). Questions pertain to patient education, diagnosis, and treatment. ChatGPT's responses were presented to a panel of 7 dermatologists for rating of factual accuracy, currency of information, and completeness of the response. Attitudes towards ChatGTP were explored qualitatively and quantitatively using a validated user experience questionnaire (UEQ).ResultsChatGPT answered 12 questions (31.6%) with an accurate, current, and complete response. ChatGPT performed best for questions on patient education, including pathogenesis of AK and potential risk factors, but struggled with diagnosis and treatment. Major deficits were seen in grading AK, providing up‐to‐date treatment guidance, and asserting incorrect information with unwarranted confidence. Further, responses were considered verbose with an average word count of 198 (SD 55) and overly alarming of the risk of malignant transformation. Based on UEQ responses, the expert panel considered ChatGPT an attractive and efficient tool, scoring highest for speed of information retrieval, but deemed the chatbot inaccurate and verbose, scoring lowest for clarity.ConclusionsWhile dermatologists rated ChatGPT high in UX, the underlying LLMs that enable such chatbots require further development to guarantee accuracy and concision required in a clinical setting.

Global research trends in sexual health care: A bibliometric and visualized study.

The present study aimed to investigate the trends and research status of sexual healthcare. We searched the Web of Science database for relevant articles concerning sexual healthcare, published between 2009 and 31 December 2022. Data collected include: the number of publications, authors, journals, countries, institutions, keywords. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to conduct the bibliometric study and visualise the analysis. A total of 1450 publications were included. The number of publications on sexual healthcare shows a fluctuating upward trend, and a stable core group of authors has been formed. The Journal of Clinical Nursing published the most articles on sexual healthcare (140 publications). The United States of America published the most articles (723, 49.86%). The research institution with the highest number of publications is the University of São Paulo. According to the keyword, timeline view and prominence mapping analysis, we believe that 'Female sexual health', 'HIV', 'LGBT' and 'Sexual Healthcare Services' may be new research hotspots in the field of sexual healthcare. This study describes the research status of sexual healthcare research over the past 14 years. The findings of this study can provide helpful reference and guidance for the development trend and research direction of sexual healthcare.

Telehealth and Technologies in Health-A Comprehensive Approach to Modern Trend of Health Care

Telehealth and Technologies in Health-A Comprehensive Approach to Modern Trend of Health Care

Trends in the National Ophthalmological Healthcare Focusing on Cataract, Retina, and Glaucoma Over 15 Years in Japan.

To assess the trends in ophthalmic healthcare, especially those of cataract, vitreo-retinal diseases, and glaucoma, the national data from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which recorded medical practices for 126.1 million citizens, were studied for 15 years. The volume and expenses of cataract surgeries increased during this period; however, non-surgical expenses decreased. As a result, the total national cataract healthcare expenses decreased over the 15-year period. The volume of vitrectomies increased from 2007 to 2013. After introduction of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections, the number of injections increased 8.4 times from 2010 to 2021, while the volume of vitrectomy and retinal photocoagulation declined after 2019 and 2017, respectively. Minimally invasive glaucoma and long-tube shunt surgeries began to increase in 2015 and 2014, respectively. This trend contrasts with the decrease in trabeculectomies after 2019. The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic caused a 30.9% decrease in ophthalmological surgery expenses in 2020. The decreases in volume and expense were greater for cataract surgeries than for other surgeries. The pandemic had a stronger impact on ophthalmological healthcare than that on general medical healthcare. Advancements in technology and methodology have led to cost savings in national cataract healthcare, vitrectomy, and retinal photocoagulation while caused increase in the volume and expenditure of glaucoma surgeries and anti-VEGF injections over a span of 15 years in Japan.

Gestational diabetes in Germany—prevalence, trend during the past decade and utilization of follow-up care: an observational study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications in pregnancy. Information on key figures such as screening rates, prevalence of GDM or utilization of follow-up care and associated factors varies widely and is often lacking. The aim of our study is to provide information on screening rates for and prevalence of GDM as well as utilization of follow-up care in Germany. We used data (2010–2020) from a large, nationwide statutory health insurance containing information on inpatient and outpatient care, including diagnoses, medication and treatments. Descriptive analyses were performed to assess screening rates, prevalence of GDM and participation rates in follow-up care. A log-binomial regression model was calculated to analyze associated factors. Screening rates among pregnant women increased from 40.2% (2010) to 93.3% (2020) and prevalence from 9.4% (2010) to 15.1% (2020). The proportion of women attending follow-up care remained stable over time (around 42%). Age, educational level, insulin prescription, hypertension and obesity were positively associated with participation in follow-up care. Although over 90% of women in Germany are screened for GDM during pregnancy, follow-up care is used much less. Further research is needed to understand the trends in GDM healthcare (from screening to follow-up care) and the reasons for women's (non-)participation, as well as the attitudes and routines of the healthcare providers involved.

Trends in unmet health care needs among adults in the U.S., 2019–2021

To examine recent trends in unmet health care needs among US adults, cross-sectional data of 93,047 adults from 2019 to 2021 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. The weighted prevalence and changes in prevalence of cost-related or COVID-19-related unmet health care needs were estimated, first overall and then stratified by socio-demographic characteristics. The prevalence of cost-related unmet health care needs was 8.3% (95% CI: 7.8%, 8.8%) in 2019, which significantly decreased to 6.6% (95% CI: 6.2%, 7.0%) in 2020 and 6.1% (95% CI: 5.7%, 6.4%) in 2021. Across most socio-demographic groups, the prevalence of cost-related unmet health care needs significantly decreased between 2019 and 2020 (absolute changes ranged from −7.4% to −1%) and between 2019 and 2021 (absolute changes ranged from −10.5% to −1.2%), with significant reductions among uninsured adults, adults below the federal poverty level, and Hispanics. The prevalence of COVID-19-related unmet health care needs was 15.7% (95% CI: 14.9%, 16.4%) in 2020, which decreased to 11.9% (95% CI: 11.5%, 12.4%) in 2021. The prevalence of COVID-19-related unmet health care needs significantly decreased across most socio-demographic groups between 2020 and 2021 (absolute changes ranged from −4.9% to −2.4%), with significant reductions among the older, the unemployed, non-Hispanic Black adults, and adults with education level ≥ college. Overall, a modest decrease in the prevalence of both cost-related and COVID-19-related unmet health care needs was observed between 2019 and 2021. However, the fact that over 10% of US adults had unmet health care needs because of the COVID-19 pandemic is still concerning, warranting continued surveillance.

Information-Technology in Healthcare

Abstract: Healthcare changes dramatically because of technological developments, from aesthetics and antibiotics to magnetic resonance imaging scanners and radiotherapy. Future technological innovation is going to keep transforming healthcare, yet while technologies (new drugs and treatments, new devices, new social media support for healthcare, etc) will drive innovation, human factors will remain one of the stable limitations of breakthroughs. No predictions can satisfy everybody; instead, this article explores fragments of the future to see how to think more clearly about how to get where we want to go. Significance for public health technology drives healthcare more than any other force, and in the future, it will continue to develop in dramatic ways. While we can glimpse and debate the details of future trends in healthcare, we need to be clear about the drivers so we can align with them and actively work to ensure the best outcomes for society as a whole.

Shared decision-making for renal replacement treatment and illness perception in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease

BackgroundCurrent healthcare trends emphasize the use of shared decision-making (SDM) for renal replacement treatment (RRT) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This is crucial to understand the relationship between SDM and illness perception of CKD patients. Few studies have focused on SDM and illness perception status of CKD patients and the impact of illness perception on RRT after SDM.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we used a questionnaire with purposive sampling from March 2019 to February 2020 at the nephrology outpatient department of a medical center in southern Taiwan. The nephrology medical team in this study used the SHARE five-step model of SDM to communicate with the patients about RRT and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) was applied to evaluate illness perception of these patients at the beginning of SDM. According to the SDM decision time, the study participants were classified general and delayed SDM groups. The distribution between SDM groups was estimated using independent two sample t-test, chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test. The correlation between illness perception and SDM decision time were illustrated and evaluated using Spearman’s correlation test. A p-value less than 0.05 is statistically significant.ResultsA total of 75 patients were enrolled in this study. The average time to make a dialysis decision after initiating SDM was 166.2 ± 178.1 days. 51 patients were classified as general group, and 24 patients were classified as delayed group. The median SDM decision time of delayed group were significantly longer than general group (56 vs. 361 days, P < 0.001). Our findings revealed that delayed group was significantly characterized with not created early surgical assess (delayed vs. general: 66.7% vs. 27.5%, p = 0.001) compared to general group. The average BIPQ score was 54.0 ± 8.1 in our study. We classified the patients into high and low illness perception group according to the median score of BIPQ. The total score of BIPQ in overall participants might increase by the SDM decision time (rho = 0.83, p = 0.830) and the linear regression line also showed consistent trends between BIPQ and SDM decision time in correspond cohorts. However, no statistically significant findings were found.ConclusionsThe patients with advanced chronic kidney disease took an average of five and a half months to make a RRT decision after undergoing SDM. Although there is no statistical significance, the trend of illness perception seems correlated with decision-making time. The stronger the illness perception, the longer the decision-making time. Furthermore, shorter decision times may be associated with earlier establishment of surgical access. We need more research exploring the relationship between illness perception and SDM for RRT in CKD patients.

Big data analytics and internet of things for personalised healthcare: opportunities and challenges

&lt;p&gt;With the increasing use of technologies and digitally driven healthcare systems worldwide, there will be several opportunities for the use of big data in personalized healthcare. In addition, With the advancements and availability of internet of things (IoT) based point-of-care (POC) technologies, big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can provide useful methods and solutions in monitoring, diagnosis, and self-management of health issues for a better personalized healthcare. In this paper, we identify the current personalized healthcare trends and challenges. Then, propose an architecture to support big data analytics using POC test results of an individual. The proposed architecture can facilitate an integrated and self-managed healthcare as well as remote patient care by adapting three popular machine learning algorithms to leverage the current trends in IoT, big data infrastructures and data analytics for advancing personalized healthcare of the future.&lt;/p&gt;

Key Attributes and Clusters of the Korean Exercise Healthcare Industry Viewed through Big Data: Comparison before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aims to predict the characteristics of the exercise healthcare industry in the post-pandemic era by comparing the periods before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak through big data analysis. TEXTOM, the Korean big data collection and analysis solution, was used for data collection. The pre-pandemic period was defined as 1 January 2018-31 December 2019 and the pandemic period as 1 January 2020-31 December 2021. The keywords for data collection were "exercise + healthcare + industry". Text mining and social network analysis were conducted to determine the overall characteristics of the Korean exercise healthcare industry. We identified 30 terms that appeared most frequently on social media. Four common (smart management, future technology, fitness, and research) and six different clusters (sports education, exercise leader, rehabilitation, services, business, and COVID-19) were obtained for the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Smart management, future technology, fitness, and research are still important values across both periods. The results provide meaningful data and offer valuable insights to explore the changing trends in exercise healthcare.

The development of medical tourism in conditions of globalization health care

The article considers impact of process of health care globalization on development of medical tourism. The main trends in health care that drastically changes the situation in conditions of COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of digitization are presented. The normative legal base in force regulating medical services export is analyzed. The study of conditions of development of medical tourism in Russia is carried out. The directions of development of medical services export in modern conditions are considered. The enumeration of issues of global health care is formed. It is accepted to consider health care sector as a part of economics that is most isolated and attached to place of rendering and consumption of services. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and active implementation of digital technologies into processes of organization of health care and medical care provision launched transformation and urged globalization. The conclusion is drew that actual society exists in epoch of globalization and digitization of health care sector. Nowadays, borders of states are not insurmountable obstacle for patients in need of high-tech medical care. The world market of medical tourism demonstrates trend to continuous growth and development permitting largest medical clusters to compete for attention of patients. The purpose of the study is in considering directions of development of medical tourism under the influence of process of health care globalization in modern society.

My Top 5 List of Impactful Health Care Trends

My Top 5 List of Impactful Health Care Trends

Structural Barriers to High-Quality Home Healthcare Nursing: What Home Health Nurses Want Medicare Policy Makers and Agency Administrators to Know

Previous research indicates home health nurses (HHNs) worry that current home health care trends are threatening their ability to provide high-quality nursing care. High-quality nursing requires patient-centered and culture-sensitive care. These 2 attributes are indicators of high-quality nursing care. In this qualitative study, 20 HHNs were interviewed to discover their insights into 2 research questions: What barriers affect HHNs’ ability to provide patient-centered, culture-sensitive, high-quality nursing care and how do these barriers affect HHNs and patients? Participants were professional HHNs who provided skilled intermittent care to diverse patient populations in their homes. Participants believed that a lack of time, high productivity requirements, pay-per-visit compensation, documentation burden, EMR systems, and the “industrialization” of HHNs’ practice create structural barriers to high-quality home health nursing. Medicare was perceived as contributing to the barriers with burdensome documentation requirements and regulations that impeded holistic patient-centered care. Nurse participants indicated that the effects of these barriers were nurse stress, burnout, moral distress, and intent to leave; lower patient outcomes and satisfaction; and healthcare disparities. Additional research about the structural barriers were reviewed and found to support the nurses’ perceptions of barriers to high-quality nursing care. In a value-based purchasing system, agencies need to support high-quality nursing care by tackling the barriers to its practice. To address the barriers comprehensively, agencies can institute policies that mirror the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Pathway to Excellence®. Medicare policy makers should examine how present policies adversely affect high-quality nursing care.

The Trend of Healthcare Needs among Elders and Its Association with Healthcare Access and Quality in Low-Income Countries: An Exploration of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

To investigate the trend of healthcare needs among elders in low-income countries (LICs) and how changes in healthcare access and quality (HAQ) have correlated with these changes from 1990 to 2019, this study used estimates from the global burden of disease (GBD) 2019 study, including prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), life expectancy (LE), health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) and the HAQ index for years 1990 and 2019. We found increases in numbers of YLLs, YLDs, and prevalent cases due to NCDs, and the rate of increase was higher for all indicators of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) when compared with communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases among elders. We also observed increases in LE and HALE among all countries. However, this was also challenged by increases in unhealthy life years (ULYs) and their constant percentage of LE. The HAQ index of LICs was also found to be low, although it had increased during the period. A reduction in the burden of acute diseases explains the increase in LE, but increases in ULYs and the NCD burden were also observed. LICs need to improve their HAQ to counter the growing threat of longer but less healthy lives.

Utilization and barriers to genomic profiling in breast cancer treatment among oncologists.

e18882 Background: Genomic profiling (GP) may help identify novel, targeted breast cancer (BC) treatments. Increased utilization and technology of GP, including options such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify mutations (e.g., PI3K, PTEN, and AKT) among patients with BC, has allowed for improved care and outcomes. Yet, there are limited standard guidelines for the application of GP, and little is known about current use and challenges in the United States (US). The objective of this study was to describe the utilization of and barriers to GP among US-based community oncologists. Methods: Three live meetings held between July and September 2022 convened oncologists to discuss trends in health care. Participants responded to survey questions online and onsite; not all participants answered every question. Results were aggregated and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 171 physicians participated (primary specialty: 56% hematology/oncology, 42% medical oncology, 2% other). The cohort is geographically diverse (Northeast 23%, Midwest 16%, South 43% and West 18%) and have a median of 18 years of experience. Most participants (92%) are using an NGS-based panel to test their patients with ER+ breast cancer for biomarkers (e.g., PI3K, AKT, and PTEN) and the most common panels utilized are indicated in the table. When treating BC, physicians indicated they most often order NGS-based tests prior to any treatment (33%) or prior to first-line treatment in the relapsed/metastatic setting (47%) (Table). Overall, the top two resources participants felt would increase their use of GP when treating patients with BC are: financial aid and reimbursement support (51%) and more clinical evidence on its utility for improving patient outcomes (48%) (Table). Education on the use of GP and decision support tools were also reported as resources that will increase utilization (34% each). Conclusions: Most oncologists are using GP when managing patients with BC, but the extent of utilization may be limited by barriers. Specifically, a lack of financial aid and/or reimbursement support and evidence on the utility to improve patient outcomes are reported as barriers. Despite high utilization of GP for patients with BC, there remains opportunity to increase uptake, such as more education and access to decision tools, which may increase the utilization and application in oncology settings. [Table: see text]

Doping-free lifestyle and health care trends offered for athletes

This article is a systematic review of recent publication that identify the peculiarities and potential risks for athletes in sports. The research elucidates the benefits of doping-free healthy lifestyle and mentions the crucial role of family physician in health care trends offered for athletes in order to improve their well-being and prevent the potential negative consequences.

Forecasting Artificial Intelligence Trends in Health Care: Systematic International Patent Analysis

Background Artificial intelligence (AI)– and machine learning (ML)–based medical devices and algorithms are rapidly changing the medical field. To provide an insight into the trends in AI and ML in health care, we conducted an international patent analysis. Objective It is pivotal to obtain a clear overview on upcoming AI and MLtrends in health care to provide regulators with a better position to foresee what technologies they will have to create regulations for, which are not yet available on the market. Therefore, in this study, we provide insights and forecasts into the trends in AI and ML in health care by conducting an international patent analysis. Methods A systematic patent analysis, focusing on AI- and ML-based patents in health care, was performed using the Espacenet database (from January 2012 until July 2022). This database includes patents from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, European Patent Office, Japan Patent Office, Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Results We identified 10,967 patents: 7332 (66.9%) from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, 191 (1.7%) from the European Patent Office, 163 (1.5%) from the Japan Patent Office, 513 (4.7%) from the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and 2768 (25.2%) from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The number of published patents showed a yearly doubling from 2015 until 2021. Five international companies that had the greatest impact on this increase were Ping An Medical and Healthcare Management Co Ltd with 568 (5.2%) patents, Siemens Healthineers with 273 (2.5%) patents, IBM Corp with 226 (2.1%) patents, Philips Healthcare with 150 (1.4%) patents, and Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co Ltd with 144 (1.3%) patents. Conclusions This international patent analysis showed a linear increase in patents published by the 5 largest patent offices. An open access database with interactive search options was launched for AI- and ML-based patents in health care.