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5 Healthcare Startup Ideas The Industry Needs Today

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The healthcare industry has seen steady growth and is ripe for disruption. And everyone knows it. In fact, venture funding deals in health technology grew nearly 200% between 2010 and 2014.

Will your startup disrupt the industry in 2017 and beyond?

Let’s start by thinking about where healthcare stands compared with other industries. Retail, for example, always seems to be ahead of the curve, deploying technologies like drones and virtual reality. Compared with this, healthcare is still in the dark ages. But all that’s about to change.

The best way to disrupt any industry is by finding the perfect intersection between need and technology. Anyone who can fill a need with advances in technology will surely inspire change.

So take a look at the following startup ideas that may well spark the next industry-altering plan:

1. Innovations in Higher Education.

The percentage of the population with a college education has been steadily increasing for the past five years and this trend is expected to continue. However, the landscape of education hasn’t changed much in the last decade. An emerging need for combining healthcare and business is being met, but the opportunity to blend this type of education with cutting-edge technology remains. The resulting technologies in healthcare can change the way doctors learn and operate.

One example of such an idea comes from a previous NYC Next Idea competition. One finalist’s plan was for a medical ethics virtual experience that can be used to educate students and hospital staff.

2. Compliance Ease.

Healthcare is known for its red tape, and that’s probably the reason why growth has been slow. We’ve recently seen growth in applications focused on compliance ease, but compliance remains as one of the largest roadblocks to change in this industry.

Hint: There’s more to compliance than codes and billing. New startups are using technology to help hospitals remain compliant with hand hygiene regulations.

3. Monitoring Technology.

The new trend of wearable technology has helped users take better control over their health, but more can be done to integrate user data with health records to create a more personalized experience.

Keep in mind: Funding for consumer wearables has cooled, but wearables that can help doctors are just heating up. Consider combining usefulness for doctors and consumers for a well-rounded product.

4. Big Data Analytics.

Imagine combining advanced wearable technology with big data analytics to get a better picture of health around the globe. With such technology, we would be able to identify patterns and potential outbreaks before symptoms are ever reported to a doctor.

Good to know: According to CBInsights, funding for healthcare data analytics has been trending up with a major lift in 2014 where there was a lot of early-stage activity.

5. Patient Care Upgrades.

Mobile devices are being used more often in hospitals, but there’s definite room for improvement. It’s likely not the devices themselves that need improving but the programs used to communicate and report data. A more streamlined process can help eliminate confusion and error, and it may also save time.

Ideas: There are many ways to upgrade patient care, including a focus on information security and staff communication. Think about the hospital experience and how it can be improved from a patient standpoint. Poor staff communication is a common complaint among patients, but there may be other ways to streamline the experience.

The ideas here are based on industry trends and opportunities, but they are meant to be food for thought. The greatest startups begin by filling a need in the marketplace that no one knew existed. So think long and hard about how you would like to see the healthcare industry change. And then, your startup can begin to change it.

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