It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Cris Wootton, Managing Director of Test Your Intolerance in Castle Donington.
A longer-living population, increasing pressure on the National Health Service and better technology means that the health and wellbeing sector is likely to be among the more successful markets in 2024, despite the economic uncertainty which is likely to continue until at least the general election. This year we have experienced unprecedented growth and we expect this to continue into next year as more and more people are forced to take their healthcare into their own hands.
Since the pandemic, when many people began using home testing kits for the first-time, confidence has grown in the science available to people in their own homes and we expect this to continue having an impact. There’s a robust pipeline of diagnostic tools and drugs in clinical development and many of these will present major breakthroughs for patients.
Data and analytics are revolutionizing many industries, and the healthcare sector is one of the most prominent areas where it is transforming processes. It allows the improvement of outcomes, increases operational efficiencies, performs predictive analytics, monitors clients and patients in real-time, reduces fraud and streamlines finance and accounting.
I would expect firms to start taking greater responsibility for their employee’s healthcare and this level of responsibility will be more prevalent across the workplace. Remote work enables talent to work from anywhere, so I believe brands and workplace cultures will continue evolving as people reflect on life priorities. To retain and attract top talent, employers must provide work-life balance and flexible scheduling that supports mental health and time with family and friends.
