4 healthcare trends for 2016

The New Year has come and 2016 is in full swing. But with new beginnings always comes new trends.

Below are four healthcare fads to look out for in the next 12 months:

RELATED TOPIC: 5 best rules for designing healthcare websites

M&A deals and tax inversions

With lending rates still well below normal averages, companies looking to make acquisitions will have access to cheap capital to strike a deal this year. Not many sectors have been as active as healthcare in recent M&A agreements, and with drug making companies looking to grow and expand, there may be a lot more activity in 2016.

RELATED TOPIC: How the Pfizer-Allergan deal has completed healthcare's M&A explosion

The merging of technology and healthcare

Health IT trends could dominate in 2016. With 3D printing on the rise, new analytics software coming to fruition and, most importantly, the proliferation of cloud software, investors will be encouraged by the latest transactions.

RELATED TOPIC: Australian economy looks for lift from medical marijuana

Cancer immunotherapies

Although it’s been one of the most prominent healthcare trends for a couple years now, cancer immunotherapies will be something to keep a close eye on in 2016. Immunotherapies are medicines that work with a patient’s immune system to help locate and fight a disease more effectively.

Since cancer often goes unnoticed by our immune system, immunotherapies will eliminate the cancer’s ability to hide.

RELATED TOPIC: Walgreens has purchased Rite Aid; but will it change the healthcare industry?

Prescription drug reform

Hefty price increases to consumers and insurers have been installed for years by the pharmaceutical industry. Over the past four years, there has been an average increase of 117 percent.

While drug makers hoped that calls for prescription drug reform would cease, it has urged lawmakers and the public to find ways to keep brand-name drugs as affordable as possible.

Source: The Motley Fool

Let's connect!   

Click here to read the latest edition of Healthcare Global magazine!