The healthcare industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by telemedicine, real-time diagnostics, smart hospitals and access to digital therapies, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), robotics and data management practices. In the last three years alone, there have been over 106,000 patents filed and granted in the healthcare industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cloud in Healthcare: Automated clinical documentation.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
200+ innovations will shape the healthcare industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the healthcare industry using innovation intensity models built on over 443,000 patents, there are 200+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, software as a medical device (SaMD), augmented reality/virtual (AR/VR) medical imaging interfaces, and automated clinical documentation are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Medical image display devices, 3D modelling and rendering, and AI-assisted electrical health record (EHR) are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are wearable fitness monitors and medical device secure data transmission, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for cloud in the healthcare industry
Automated clinical documentation is a key innovation area in cloud
Automated Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) speeds the process by combining natural language processing and contextual comprehension of health record structure with enhanced business principles to assist CDI specialists in identifying potentially missing vital documentation details.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established healthcare companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of automated clinical documentation.
Key players in automated clinical documentation – a disruptive innovation in the healthcare industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to automated clinical documentation
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Microsoft | 98 | Unlock company profile |
| Nullable | 12 | Unlock company profile |
| 5 Health | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| International Business Machines | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Redox | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Zoetis | 9 | Unlock company profile |
| State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Epic Systems | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Better Therapeutics | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| FiNC Technologies | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Koninklijke Philips | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Teijin | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| LG | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Medigram | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Launch Tech Company | 5 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Microsoft and 5 Health are the leading patent filers in the cloud automated clinical documentation. Some other leading patent filers include Internation Business Machine and Finc Technologies.
In terms of application diversity, Microsoft and 5 Health lead the pack, followed by International Business Machine. With regards to geographic reach, Launch Tech, Finc Technologies, and Zoetis are the top patent filers.
Cloud computing provides numerous advantages by allowing users to access infrastructure, platforms, and software provided by cloud providers. Cloud-computing systems for healthcare information exchange (HIE) can be designed to be safer than traditional client-server systems against the most common causes of healthcare data breaches. When HIE systems migrate to the cloud, they become adaptable to various departmental needs and organisational sizes, free of high-cost expenses, and portable for remote access to information and systems.
To further understand how Cloud is disrupting the healthcare industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cloud Computing in Healthcare.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
