The who, what and where of work rearchitected
Predicting the future of healthcare and life sciences in 2025
10 minute read
Welcome to the fourth in our series of Life Sciences and Healthcare predictions 2025.
Prediction for 2025. Advances in AI-enabled robotics, cognitive automation and digitalisation are helping HCPs work more productively – architecting the who, what, where and how work is done. As such, all HCPs now practice at the top of their professional license and have enriched career paths. Task shifting and task reorganisation are commonplace, leading to a diverse, blended workforce that provides care where and when needed. All HCPs participate in multi-professional training based on adaptive, agile ways of working to help them adopt innovation.
The world in 2025
- New ways of working. Automation, robotics and other digitally enabled insights help HCPs with task-shifting and role-enrichment to create a sustainable, adaptable workforce.
- Training. Developing cognitive, digital, emotional and analytical skills allows HCPs to communicate effectively with each other and with patients, including providing the confidence to discuss the results of AI- enabled diagnostics and genomics testing.
- Provider infrastructure. Helps HCPs data-share across organisational boundaries.
- Pharmacists as caregivers. Provide online/video consultations, and monitor/track medication remotely.
Conquered constraints in 2025
- Skills and talent. More diverse individuals from more varied backgrounds have been recruited to become HCPs. All receive core training, using blended learning methods to increase expertise.
- Funding. National and local governments help determine training budgets and align incentives/funding models to attract the right people. Employers give staff opportunities and remunerate them for develop specific skills.
- Regulations. Regulators and professional bodies collaborate to ensure compliance with safe staffing models and partner with academia to match training with the evolving roles and responsibilities of the tech-enabled workforce.
- Data and interoperability. Staff understand data provenance, curation, integration and governance, and the ethical, data privacy and security considerations associated with technology.
A snapshot of a patient in 2025: Expediting a patient’s safe diagnosis and treatment
80-year-old Tony has a chesty cough (with sputum) which is getting worse, so he uses his GP’s AI-enabled clinical assessment tool. Possible pneumonia is diagnosed and a recommendation that he speaks to his doctor immediately.
Dr Jones gets an urgent alert. He reviews Tony’s medical notes (he’s generally fit and healthy) and looks at the real-time wellness data from his wearable devices (which, coupled with Tony’s symptoms, suggest he may be at risk of developing sepsis related to pneumonia and needs immediate medical attention. Dr Jones instigates an online consultation and activates the despatch of a Smart e-ambulance equipped with a video- and voice-collaboration platform.
Dr Jones sends the paramedics Tony’s results via an API-integrated platform ensuring that the e-ambulance has an appropriate sepsis biomarker test kit and specific antibiotic medication on board to enable Tony’s infection to be treated without delay.
Evidence in 2020
- Area9’s customisable healthcare learning platform. The NEJM Knowledge+ medical education platform uses smart technology that adapts to clinicians learning goals, pace of learning and knowledge gaps. Area9 partnered with the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Group to develop this first-of-its-kind platform
- CMR Surgical Ltd widens the use of robot surgery. Developed in collaboration with surgical teams, the Versius® Surgical Robotic System has been created to boost uptake of robot-assisted minimal access surgery (MAS). Now approved for use across Europe, its novel, mobile design has the ability to improve patient outcomes (compared to open surgery), team communication, the surgeon’s workspace and career longevity.
How COVID-19 has accelerated this prediction
Deloitte’s view
Health systems had little time to respond to COVID-19. They nevertheless reorganised services, trained staff to work in new ways in unfamiliar teams, developed effective ways to support the wellbeing of staff and delivered safe patient care, all in the shortest of time frames.
One notable outcome of this change-management programme is an accelerated adoption of digital technologies – like new robotic processes to support service delivery and telehealth consultations. Hospitals are also using data analytics and automated dash boards so staff can work more efficiently.
AI-enabled platforms
Vimercate Hospital (Lombardy, Italy) collaborated with Fujifilm to implement an AI platform, REiLI, to help deliver a timely COVID-19 response to the influx of patients with serious breathing difficulties. REiLI processes CT scans and chest X-rays, providing vital support for radiologists via rapid objective assessments of lung zones for pulmonary parenchymal consolidation. The AI data supports daily examination reporting to monitor the disease’s development, as well as clinical analysis and decision making. In the first few months of the pandemic, the tool identified 900+ cases of COVID-19 lung disease.
Explore more
Our series of ten predictions for the life sciences and healthcare industry looks ahead to the year 2025 to help you see what’s coming and to keep your organisation moving forward.
Browse the predictions series, subscribe and listen to our podcast, and watch our webinar on demand to find out more.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised in our predictions, please do contact one of our specialists listed below.
Key contacts
Director, UK Centre for Health Solutions
Lead Partner, Public Sector Health
Partner, Life Sciences and Healthcare
Partner, UK Leader – Future of Work