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Cranfield, UK, 30 September 2024 –
Generative AI is taking the healthcare industry by storm, sparking intense conversations and dominating the agenda at key events like the HIMSS AI in Healthcare forum, which Signify Research attended earlier this month. You can read more about the key takeaways from the forum here. As the excitement builds, so does the need to separate the hype from real-world impact. While some applications are making waves, many questions remain unanswered. That’s why Signify Research launched the Vendor Sentiment Index (VSI)—a first-of-its-kind tool capturing the pulse of the market on this transformative technology.
Since this is the first iteration of the VSI, there is no historical data for comparison, but it offers a valuable starting point for understanding where the market stands today. The VSI is part of the broader Generative AI Market Intelligence Service, which seeks to answer critical questions about the technology in healthcare. If you’re interested in learning more about Signify’s service, you can download the brochure here.
This Insight provides a high-level overview of the findings from the VSI. For more in-depth analysis, or if you would like to be included in the next survey, you can reach out to the lead analyst at Vlad.Kozynchenko@signifyresearch.net.
VSI Overview
The survey gathered responses from 39 HealthTech vendors across various clinical segments and regions (NAMER, EMEA, APAC). All vendors completed the full survey. While we can’t disclose the exact participants due to confidentiality, respondents included some of the largest global healthcare technology vendors, such as:
- 10 of the top 20 Imaging IT/AI in Medical Imaging vendors
- Three of the top 10 global EHR vendors
- Two of the top five high-acuity telehealth IT vendors
- Two of the top 10 US value-based care IT vendors
- Two of the top five global oncology IT vendors
VSI provides a timely overview of vendor sentiment, shedding light on the current state of the HealthTech market. It forms part of Signify Research’s 2024 Generative AI Market Intelligence Service, delivering an up-to-date assessment of vendor confidence and market conditions. It is not meant to represent all healthcare stakeholders or predict future actions but rather to offer early insights into vendor confidence around emerging technologies like generative AI.
Vendors can use the VSI to inform their short- and mid-term strategies, assess commercial prospects, and gauge overall sentiment—such as determining whether the generative AI market ‘hype’ is justified, particularly in sectors like medical imaging AI.
Market Outlook
- Next 3 Months: Vendor confidence in the near-term prospects of generative AI is mixed. Confidence levels are distributed across the spectrum, with the most common level being 6, signalling moderate optimism. This reflects the early stage of adoption and the uncertainty surrounding short-term developments. Technical challenges, regulatory concerns, and market readiness are still areas of concern.
- Next 12 Months: The outlook becomes more positive within the next year. Confidence levels show a spike at the highest level (10), with many vendors expecting significant progress. As AI technologies mature and begin to demonstrate tangible results, vendors foresee overcoming short-term barriers.
- Next 5 Years: Looking five years ahead, confidence in generative AI’s long-term potential is overwhelming. The majority of respondents selected 10 on the confidence scale, reflecting a broad industry consensus that AI will play a transformative role in healthcare. By this point, vendors anticipate clearer regulatory frameworks, wide adoption, and greater integration of AI technologies.
The VSI reveals a striking contrast between short-term caution and long-term optimism among vendors, underscoring a key assumption: generative AI is seen as powerful and potentially transformative, yet the market is currently paralyzed by uncertainty. In the next three months, confidence levels are mixed, with many vendors hesitant due to technical challenges, regulatory concerns, and questions around market readiness. However, as we look further ahead—particularly over the next five years—confidence surges, with vendors overwhelmingly expecting generative AI to have a significant impact in healthcare once these barriers are addressed. This highlights the industry’s belief in generative AI’s potential, even if the path forward remains unclear.
Generative AI Implementation Timeline by Vendor Type
Among Digital Health vendors, a notable 47% have successfully implemented generative AI solutions, in stark contrast to just 15% of Medical & Clinical IT vendors. This disparity underscores the readiness of the Digital Health sector to embrace generative AI, with all Digital Health vendors either having already adopted or planning to implement these solutions within the next 24 months.
In comparison, approximately one-third of Medical & Clinical IT vendors either have no plans to integrate generative AI or anticipate that their products will be more than 24 months away from implementation. This trend clearly indicates that the Digital Health sector is significantly ahead of Medical & Clinical IT in leveraging generative AI technologies.
Customer Sentiment
Overall, the majority of projects are either in the commercial/testing phase or scheduled for implementation within the next year, indicating significant ongoing activity in the healthcare tech sector. Digital Health appears to be progressing more rapidly, with over half of its initiatives already in commercial/testing stages and a substantial portion set for near-term implementation. In contrast, Medical & Clinical IT projects show a more extended timeline, with half of the initiatives requiring over 12 months for implementation, suggesting greater complexity or systemic challenges in this area. Interestingly, customer disinterest remains relatively low across all categories, though slightly higher for Medical & Clinical IT. This analysis reveals varying paces of adoption and implementation challenges between different healthcare technology domains, with Digital Health emerging as the faster-moving segment compared to the more time-intensive Medical & Clinical IT projects.
Barriers to Adoption
The most significant barriers to generative AI adoption identified by vendors include:
- Data Privacy & Security
- Regulatory Compliance
- Efficacy Concerns
Other challenges hindering the adoption of generative AI include difficulties in integrating the technology with existing systems and a general lack of understanding of AI among customers. Cost considerations also play a significant role, as the financial burden of implementing AI solutions can be prohibitive for some organizations. Additionally, managing the risks associated with AI-based diagnoses, such as liability concerns, adds complexity. Finally, many vendors face the challenge of presenting a compelling value proposition that clearly demonstrates the benefits of AI adoption, making it harder to justify investment in the technology.
Limitations
It is worth noting that there are certain limitations in the survey. While valuable insights were gleaned from the 39 respondents, the relatively small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, most responses came from medical and clinical IT vendors, with fewer contributions from digital health companies. This imbalance may skew the results toward the perspectives of clinical IT vendors, underrepresenting the trends and challenges faced by digital health companies. A more evenly distributed respondent pool would provide a broader view of the health technology landscape. However, in our analysis, we do look at trends in these two main segments individually.
Conclusion
Generative AI holds immense promise for the healthcare industry, but significant challenges remain. The VSI provides an early look at how vendors perceive these opportunities and barriers. As the technology matures, its transformative potential is expected to become clearer, with vendors showing growing confidence in its long-term success. Signify Research will continue to track these trends, providing valuable insights into the evolving healthcare AI landscape.
Related Research
Generative AI Market Intelligence Service
This Market Intelligence Service delivers data, insights, and thorough analysis of the worldwide market potential for vendors leveraging Generative AI in healthtech. The Service encompasses Medical/Clinical IT, EMR & Digital Health, Pharma & Life Sciences, and Big Tech vendors, exploring their opportunities and strategies in the realm of generative AI
About The Author
Vlad joined Signify Research in 2023 as a Senior Market Analyst in the Digital Health team. He brings several years of experience in the consulting industry, having undertaken strategy, planning, and due diligence assignments for governments, operators, and service providers. Vlad holds an MSc degree with distinction in Business with Consulting from the University of Warwick.
About the AI in Healthcare Team
Signify Research’s AI in Healthcare team delivers in-depth market intelligence and insights across a breadth of healthcare technology sectors. Our areas of coverage include medical imaging analysis, clinical IT systems, pharmaceutical and life sciences applications, as well as electronic medical records and broader digital health solutions. Our reports provide a data-centric and global outlook of each market with granular country-level insights. Our research process blends primary data collected from in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals and technology vendors, to provide a balanced and objective view of the market.
About Signify Research
Signify Research provides healthtech market intelligence powered by data that you can trust. We blend insights collected from in-depth interviews with technology vendors and healthcare professionals with sales data reported to us by leading vendors to provide a complete and balanced view of the market trends. Our coverage areas are Medical Imaging, Clinical Care, Digital Health, Diagnostic and Lifesciences and Healthcare IT.
Clients worldwide rely on direct access to our expert Analysts for their opinions on the latest market trends and developments. Our market analysis reports and subscriptions provide data-driven insights which business leaders use to guide strategic decisions. We also offer custom research services for clients who need information that can’t be obtained from our off-the-shelf research products or who require market intelligence tailored to their specific needs.
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