By Rob Martens
This article originally appeared in an August edition of the Inside Indiana Business newsletter.
Until COVID-19 hit, health technology was seeing steady growth – but the adoption and reinvention of consumer-focused health technologies spiked with the pandemic as we became increasingly aware of the invisible health hazards of going about everyday life.
Here’s a look at three health technology trends that are here to stay:
1. Touchless experiences. Touchless technology was gaining popularity pre-COVID as a novel convenience tool. Displaying your phone to pay for your morning coffee or swiping a badge to enter a building was all about making an experience frictionless (no more having to scrounge around in your wallet or fumble with a key ring). Post-COVID, the development of touchless experiences has accelerated to become a consumer’s expectation – not as much for convenience as for health.
2. Virus resistant materials. While virus resistant materials, such as antimicrobial copper coatings, aren’t necessarily new, until recently, they’ve been limited to primarily healthcare facilities. Now, with our collective awareness of just how quickly a virus can spread, businesses, schools, multi-family residential developments, and entertainment venues are quickly upgrading finishings as an added layer of protection – and as an additional marketing tool to put the consumer’s mind at ease.
3. Visitor and space management. Like with touchless experiences, the emerging world of visitor management technology was, pre-COVID, all about convenience and maximizing space utilization. Since 2020, the introduction of guidelines for physical “social” distancing brought about the need to limit office density. Some space management tools now also serve as health checkpoints and offer contact tracing. As we’re easing back into a new normal, visitor and space management tech is undergoing yet another transformation: Helping newly remote and hybrid office workers find and book space when they do venture into the office in-person.
