2025 has had many new and ongoing developments in an increasingly digital and connected world!

Before diving into these emerging technologies…

As hiring starts to slow down as we get closer to the end of the year. This is the perfect time to upskill and advance your skills in Power BI and SQL, and make acing the health informatics interview your 2026 goal!

I am running a 20% discount on both my online course, which teaches you how to build your own dashboard in Power BI and learn SQL skills. Also, I have written an eBook, with actual interview questions I and others have received during the health informatics interview process:

Use code LEARN20 until December 1st 2025

Become a Healthcare Data Analyst

Ace the Health Informatics Interview

Here are 4 emerging and developing health informatics technologies you should know:

1. Ambient documentation technologies
   
   Some articles have linked clinician burnout to documentation burden. With the short amount of time clinicians have with patients, balancing documenting and interacting with the patient is no easy feat.
   
   When I have a check-up with my family physician, there are many forms and documents she has to fill out, all the while also answering my questions. Some healthcare organizations have implemented the use of ambient document technology in the form of AI scribes.
   
   This technology can be used through the use of a microphone which picks up the audio in the room between the patient and the clinician, and translates it into text to be stored within the Electronic Medical Record, for a final review by the clinician.
   
   Some articles here, here, and here have already shown early favourable results for the use of this technology, both on the provider’s side, who find the technology beneficial to reduce the burden of documentation, and the patient can feel more supported by the clinician.
   
   Microsoft recently acquired Nuance Dragon, which is a medical dictation software, in March 2022, and Oracle has an AI-powered clinical agent which also has a voice-to-text feature. This seems to be the new direction of using voice-to-text technology to reduce clinical documentation burden and will be a space to watch.
   
   
2. Drone Technology
   
   Living in Canada, there are several rural and remote areas which don’t have the same access to care as the major metropolitan cities. When it comes to rural and remote areas, internet connectivity can be spotty, leading to difficulty in accessing virtual telehealth appointments.
   
   Due to the winter, roads can be hazardous to access and can be a barrier to care. I have been interested in the use of drone technology to deliver life-saving medications to these hard-to-reach areas. For example, in 2018, the organization Drone Delivery Canada successfully partnered with the Moose Cree First Nation (an Indigenous community) to deliver essential supplies, including medical supplies and testing kits for HIV and Hepatitis C.
   
   Similarly in British Columbia, a partnership between the First Nations Health Authority, the Rural Coordination Centre of BC, the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and LifeLabs, between October 2021 and October 2022, conducted 1200 drone flights and the successful delivery of a variety of medications to Stellat’en First Nation community members. It will be interesting to see how this technology develops to serve individuals in rural and remote areas.
   
   
3. Diabetic Retinopathy and the use of AI
   
   Speaking of access to care in rural and remote areas, many of these areas might not have direct access to an ophthalmologist. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye – the retina and if left untreated, might result in blindness.
   
   More than 3.77 million Canadians were living with diabetes in 2020, and this number is expected to rise to nearly 4.89 million by 2030. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common cause of blindness in working-age adults.
   
   Several different health organizations have implemented a model where a nurse or health promoter will assist the patient in taking an image of the back of the eye, and will upload the image to a server for an AI program to identify anomalies, to send to an ophthalmologist to diagnose and determine a care plan for the patient. This can help the clinician to reach patients in remote and rural areas where access to care might be limited. This is an example of integrating AI into a stepped model of care and using various clinical roles to help diagnose the patient, who might have limited access to healthcare.
   
   
4. Integrating Genomic Data into the Electronic Medical Record
   
   As we continue to learn more about genomic data and how it can impact patients’ reactions to treatment plans, there is a growing push to integrate an individual’s genetic blueprint. For instance, the clinician might be able to use this information to predict how a patient might react to a certain prescribed drug.
   
   Interoperability challenges have been reported as one of the barriers to fully integrating genomic data into the Electronic Health Record system, so it is easily accessible by clinicians. However, MEDITECH, an Electronic Health Record system, integrates patient genetic data into the clinical workflow of their EHR. Recently, Ontario Shores became the first hospital in Ontario, who use MEDITECH, to offer pharmacogenetic testing, for no cost for select patient groups to better understand how their bodies metabolize medications.
   
   In addition, there has been some great news when it comes to treating Huntington’s disease, a genetic mutation which turns a normal protein (huntingtin protein) into one which kills neurons. This novel technique uses gene therapy to lower levels of mutant huntingtin in the brain. Early data showed that three years after surgery, there was an average 75% slowing of the disease. I am personally excited to see how the field of precision medicine will continue to evolve, as genetic testing becomes more mainstream and accessible to the general population.
   
   
   These technologies are rapidly innovating the health informatics field, and I am excited to see where we are 5-10 years from now. What about you? What are you most excited to see at the intersection between technology and healthcare? Please leave a comment.
   

Upcoming Event

Introducing… Sip and Share: Casual Health Informatics Chats

This will be held virtually, 3 times a year, over Zoom and will be a space where we as a community can come together to discuss topics around Health Informatics.

The first session will be Sunday, January 25th, 2026, from 10 AM – 10: 30 AM EST on Zoom, and I’ll provide a few tips on how to prepare for the health informatics role, but it will largely be a space for you to come and vent (about this horrible job market) and ask questions to others. Get your tickets here