How AI is Shaping the Future of US Healthcare Delivery: Your Signal to Get Funded

AI is one of the hottest markets for investment right now.

The US is leading the world in investment in AI, with $328,548 million spent in the last five years – $67,911 million in 2023 alone, a 65.94% increase from that of 2019. 

While AI is driving innovation in everything from media to financial services to manufacturing, its potential to revolutionize our healthcare is making the biggest waves. 

As recently as July of this year, Crunchbase reported that the leading sector for investment was healthcare and biotech, raising $6 billion. AI was close on its heels, at around $5.8 billion. Jointly, this represents around 25% of all funding in that time period, a significant amount of overall dealflow.

It’s little wonder investors are so keen to support AI and healthtech - generative AI is a rapidly-growing technology with the potential to transform the lives of millions of patients across the US, and support the physicians treating them.

It’s also good news for startups and SMEs working on healthtech innovations, representing a healthy investment market that continues to grow.

Get up to speed with the market, what healthtech can do for us, and why this is the right time to get your healthcare innovation funded.

A Growing Demand for Healthtech

The last four years have seen interest in digital health innovations skyrocket. 

EY US's Health Pulse Survey from February 2024 revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as 'a catalyst for the healthcare industry’, driving up appetite for digital health solutions and pushing healthtech to the forefront. 

According to a paper published by The National Academy of Medicine, 'Digital Health COVID-19 Impact Assessment: Lessons Learned and Compelling Needs', the pandemic not only drove a rapid adoption of telemedicine, (among other digitally-dependent advances) but also 'sparked years of advances in mere months.'

The necessary innovations in delivering healthcare in a public health crisis has driven everything from greater trust in telemedicine to widespread mobile health tracking, more sharing and usage of data in health tracking and diagnosis, and a growing familiarity when using technology to access healthcare.

Consumer awareness of health and fitness has also contributed. 

The Health Information National Trends Survey shows that almost one in three Americans uses a wearable device to track their health and fitness. Of these, more than 80%, would share information from their device with their doctor to support their health monitoring.

The fact that people are becoming more comfortable with wearable fitness trackers and at-home monitoring devices, coupled with a growing appetite for health data on demand, is helping to reshape traditional healthcare service delivery. 

So what are the key innovations already in place?

AI-Powered Healthcare: Better Data, Faster Results

Advancements in AI and associated healthtech can transform the lives of patients and physicians, both in diagnostics and treatments.

Another report by the National Academy of Medicine, 'Artificial Intelligence in HealthCare', predicts three key ways in which AI can benefit healthcare: 

• Improving outcomes for both patients and clinical teams.
• Lowering healthcare costs.
• Benefits to population health.

The Mayo Clinic has already conducted research into how AI is boosting preventative care. In one example, researchers screening for polycystic kidney disease were able to analyze dozens of kidney images in a matter of seconds, using AI to automate the formerly laborious parts of the process, which previously took up to 45 mins per patient. 

In another example, a cardiology study successfully used AI to identify people at risk of left ventricular dysfunction - a silent condition known as a ‘weak heart pump’, which affects 7 million Americans, and is associated with reduced quality of life and longevity - even though the individuals had no symptoms. Not only could such usage save time and money previously invested in expensive and invasive diagnostic tests, it has the potential to save more lives.

Paul Friedman, M.D., senior author and chair of the Midwest Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic, said:

“Congestive heart failure afflicts more than 5 million people and consumes more than $30 billion in health care expenditures in the U.S. alone. The ability to acquire an ubiquitous, easily accessible, inexpensive recording in 10 seconds – the EKG – and to digitally process it with AI to extract new information about previously hidden heart disease holds great promise for saving lives and improving health.”

Healthcare leaders agree - and are already implementing generative AI in their operations.

According to McKinsey research, the Q1 2024 survey, which included 100 US healthcare leaders, revealed that more than 70 percent of respondents from healthcare organizations—including payers, providers, and healthcare services and technology (HST) groups— are already pursuing or have already implemented gen AI capabilities.

AI can empower patients with chronic conditions, helping them monitor their own conditions at home, connecting them to key services at critical points, and reminding them to make regular observations or take medication. Studies show that the implementation of AI is already enhancing patient compliance and engagement, leading to better health outcomes.

For physicians, AI is not a replacement for human-led medicine, but a useful tool for greater efficiency and automation of labor-intensive tasks such as paperwork and report writing, freeing up physicians to focus on face-to-face interactions, meaning more people can be seen by a care provider, faster.

Healthtech Innovation Funding Priorities

Supporting AI healthcare advancements is a key priority for the government.

The Biden-Harris administration signed a landmark Executive Order on October 30 last year, confirming its commitment to placing the highest urgency on governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly to drive improved health outcomes for Americans while safeguarding their security and privacy.

The impact of federal funding in healthtech is clear: analysis from the Global Health Technologies Coalition and Policy Cures Research shows that $46 billion in U.S. public funding generated dozens of new tools for fighting HIV, TB and other global threats; boosted economic performance at home and abroad; and could drive up to $102 billion in industry investments.

Join the Revolution in Healthcare Delivery

Your project could be life-changing for patients and physicians alike, but you’ll need vital capital to get off the ground. With healthtech high on the agenda for patients, clinical leaders, and federal funders alike, the time is now to get funded for your healthcare innovation.

Venture capital isn't right for every startup, and is best for early-stage companies already gaining traction. If you’re just starting out, you’ll need greater funding and support for these critical growth stages.

SBIR/STTR

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant programs – also known as America’s Seed Fund - support innovative technology research and development projects to realize their commercial potential, with grants of up to $2 million.

The SBIR grant application can be a tough landscape to navigate alone, so  don’t gamble with your chances of success – unlock your innovator’s potential with Grantify.