The healthcare industry can seem overloaded with new technological experiments, but companies focusing on implementation are ahead of the game, according to Forbes' David Shaywitz.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) Health Research Institute expects “persistent risks and uncertainties” to impact healthcare in 2017, ranging from policy changes under the Trump administration to how artificial intelligence (AI) will change workflows—and in the end, it may come out stronger because of those challenges.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic have found that using emojis instead of a conventional emotional scale could help physicians in assessing physical and mental health and overall quality of life. Findings were presented to the American Society of Hematology.

Health Wizz have launched a mobile platform with blockchain technology to provide patients a secure platform to aggregate, organize and share personal health records.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota used 3D printing to build lifelike artificial organ models that mimic the look, structure, mechanical properties and feel of human organs. Findings were published in Advanced Materials Technologies.

Elderly patients who played 3D-platform games such as Nintendo's Super Mario 64 saw improvements in short-term memory and an increase in gray matter in the brain, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.

Accuracy in smartphone and wearable devices is an important factor in their usability for medical purposes. However, a study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences found the pedometer built into the iPhone missed 1,340 steps when compared to an accelerometer worn on the waist.

About 3.6 million plans have been selected on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges through Dec. 2, outpacing the 600,000 selections at this time in 2016. With the open enrollment period lasting 45 days instead of 90, however, it’s looking likely the final numbers will fall short of previous years.