The Rise of Health Tech

Health technology is a niche in the technology industry that’s enjoying major growth, and is a trend that’s set to continue. Countless projects from start-ups and huge pharma alike are changing the way that many people look at their own health. So why have the past few years been so big for health tech, and does its rise come with any problems?

Incubation

As eggs incubate, so do companies, with the help of special programs called incubators and their older sibling, accelerators. Incubators focus on new start-ups with a disruptive idea, whereas accelerators look to help take a start-up to the next level. Both look to provide mentorship, admin resources, and great networking connections, providing significant value and some safety to companies that are enrolled in them. Some examples of programs that specifically look to share knowledge and networks in the health tech industry include Illumina’s accelerator, Intuitive-X, Blueprint Health, and many more. The rise of incubators and accelerators means the rise of disruptive health trends. 

Awareness

Layman awareness drives growth in the health tech sector. This isn’t just the case in terms of consumption, but many small businesses are created by laymen who seek to sell interesting products on online stores, or who look to write about disruptive trends on blogs. These are an important support to the health tech economy. Look at what’s happened with CBD—a few years ago very few people knew what CBD was. This changed due to the popularization of supercritical carbon solvent extraction in manufacturers, coupled with increasingly wide-spread awareness about the benefits of CBD in consumers. All kinds of CBD products started being sold, with so many online stores popping up that e-commerce companies have had to specifically accommodate for CBD sellers. Awareness of trends such as CBD can rapidly accelerate health tech growth in specific niches. If there is growth in one niche, this often fuels growth in other niches, as health tech investors rarely stick to a specific trend. 

Technological Facilitation

Much health tech is driven by new technology, but even more ideas relate to the management and use of big data. Any company involved in big data is able to be much more efficient and much more profitable with the use of cloud tech and other storage solutions. Scalable growth enabled by the cloud means that a small company can test their company in the market without paying for massive hardware fees. Instead, they simply pay for what they use. 

Dangers

There are some dangers—especially regarding big data—that might slow the rise of health tech. A good example of this can be seen in the past month, where Google bought the health-gadget Fitbit for $2.1 billion. This is because health data is even more valuable than behavioral data and how it will be monetized in the future is a little unknown. The data-mining firm owned by Peter Thiel, Palantir, is named after a device in The Lord of the Rings that allows characters to omnisciently see anything. Palantir has collected so much health data during the Covid pandemic (including being given access to all of the UK’s NHS sensitive data) that Amnesty Technology has had to issue a warning. These dangers should be managed with clear and transparent policies if health tech is to continue to enjoy consumer support.