4 Digital Health Trends That Will Define Healthcare in 2026

Healthcare and health tech organizations face increasing pressure to deliver measurable outcomes while providing stronger data protections and a more inclusive patient experience. Patient expectations and demands are also on the rise for their digital experiences. They want accuracy, ease of use, personalization and trust. Regulators are paying close attention to ensure that health technology is secure and reliable across every device and demographic.

The healthcare and health tech organizations who succeed in their digital initiatives will be the ones who move beyond lab testing to capture and implement key performance insights. Here are four trends that will shape digital health this year, and how crowdtesting can help validate workflows and products before they are implemented in the real world. 

1. AI-enabled diagnostics demand real-world validation 

An expansion of AI-enabled diagnostics and virtual care is anticipated for healthcare brands. A 2024 survey of 1,200 physicians found that 66% of respondents were using healthcare AI for a variety of purposes, including assistive diagnosis — an increase of 78% from the previous year. 

As a result, AI-driven workflows will become even more deeply embedded in consumer and clinical health products. One market report found that the AI diagnostics market is projected to grow to $5.4 billion through 2030, up from $1.2 billion in 2023. The demand for early detection in specialties like neurology and oncology is part of the reason for the increased adoption. 

While AI-powered tools can help physicians diagnose conditions faster and more accurately, they aren’t without risk. An algorithm can behave reliably in a controlled environment, but falter when faced with variables it hasn’t yet encountered. What happens when the tool is faced with incomplete or inconsistent data, or poor image quality?

There is also the potential for algorithmic bias. AI systems are often trained on data that excludes patients of color and other marginalized groups. The consequences can be significant: missed diagnoses or incorrect risk predictions that lead to delays in care.

To mitigate these risks, it is essential for health tech teams to validate medical devices with diverse patient populations. Through crowdtesting in the wild — with real users and devices — AI-powered workflows will face scenarios that cannot be replicated in a closed environment. This authenticity and flexibility enables health tech teams to validate workflows and help ensure they perform consistently across different demographics and devices before launch.

2. Increased regulatory scrutiny amid data privacy concerns 

Patient health information (PHI) is a goldmine for cyberattackers, and healthcare leaders can expect to face more pressure than ever to keep this information secure. Patient demographics, financials, Social Security numbers and much more are at risk. It’s no surprise that data privacy and security are a priority for health tech teams.

According to a 2026 healthcare outlook survey, 80% of healthcare executives said regulatory and policy factors will influence their 2026 strategies. Regulators are scrutinizing how organizations store, transmit and use health data. With the number and severity of healthcare data breaches rising steadily for more than a decade, millions are at risk if healthcare and health tech organizations fail to properly secure data across devices and platforms. 

Privacy and security must be built into products from the beginning of the design cycle — and products must be continuously tested for compliance. However, lab environments often fail to capture how users interact with products in the real world, including user flows that incorporate sensitive data. Patients fail to update their device software regularly, or they might have inadequate or compromised encryption key management. These unpatched systems are vulnerable to security breaches. 

Crowdtesting with a partner like Applause helps provide insight into how patients and clinicians interact and manage PHI. Insights from real-world testers using products in real scenarios can enable health tech teams to make security features as user-friendly and transparent as possible to increase comprehension and compliance.

3. The rise of condition-specific wearables 

Health wearables have evolved from simple fitness trackers to specialized devices for all types of medical purposes, such as cardiac monitoring and diabetes management — and their increased use will reflect their importance in patient outcomes. The U.S. market for consumer and medical-grade wearables is projected to reach $112.67 billion by 2033 — the global market is projected to to exceed $335.90 billion by 2032.

Because of their role in chronic disease management, condition-specific medical-grade wearables are subject to higher standards of accuracy, efficacy and safety. These devices reveal clinical insights that can inform treatment planning, so there’s no room for error.

Health tech teams need to consider several key questions around condition-specific wearables, such as: 

• Can the patient set up the device independently and properly without clinical supervision?
• Does the device perform accurately during exercise?
• Does the device integrate with other mobile apps or electronic health records?
• How does the device handle syncing in areas with low bandwidth?

These devices might perform reliably in a lab setting with a handful of volunteers, but real users introduce unforeseen complexity. Not every patient will use their device perfectly — in fact, some will knowingly use it incorrectly. Wearables must function even in the event of battery drain, connectivity interruptions or software updates. They must also maintain accuracy across different body types and skin tones. 

Pressure-testing these devices in real-world scenarios helps health tech teams capture real performance data — not lab environment estimations. This feedback can help companies reduce device failure and improve patient adherence. 

4. Accessibility becomes a core requirement

More than half the population is using digital health and virtual care, including people with disabilities, which means excluding certain users is akin to denying them care. One digital health survey found that 58% of Americans used virtual care in 2024. Furthermore, 53% of Americans own a wearable, and more than half actively track at least one health metric. 

There are over 70 million adults with disabilities in the United States, more than a quarter of the population. End users might have auditory, cognitive, motor or visual impairments that affect how they are able to use certain devices. Older adults also rely on virtual care to manage multiple conditions and medications, but accessibility challenges often increase with age.

High-quality products must account for potential accessibility and usability challenges, lest they risk leaving entire populations without access to tools that are essential for health management. Designing products solely for able-bodied users — whether intentional or not — is not only discriminatory, but decreases reach and patient satisfaction as well. 

True accessibility requires health tech teams to test their products with real users with disabilities. Can a blind user navigate a telehealth appointment with a screen reader? Can a person with mobility challenges successfully refill a prescription through an app? Do digital health tools work effectively with assistive devices? Empathy studies with real people with disabilities help identify usability barriers that cannot be found with artificial testing. When you can test real products with real users, it helps ensure usability for the broadest patient population possible.