Are interest rates going higher, or will the latest bump tame inflation? In uncertain times like these, it's a good idea to bolster your portfolio with shares of successful businesses you can expect to deliver steadily rising cash flows long into the future.

These healthcare stocks recently tumbled to new 52-week lows and it wasn't due to poor performance from the businesses themselves. In fact, these industry giants appear to be at the top of their game.

The road ahead could get rockier, especially if dramatic interest rate increases don't tame runaway inflation. With products many of us literally can not live without, though, these healthcare stocks have a better than average chance to produce positive returns for investors if rates rise further, fall, or stay the same.

Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories (ABT 1.91%) probably received more attention over the past two years than it has at any point in its 134-year history. Rapidly developing, manufacturing, and distributing COVID-19 tests in 2020 drove demand through the roof for Abbott's diagnostics segment. More recently, parents are learning just how little competition there is for the company's specialty baby formulas.

U.S. nutrition sales are responsible for less than 6% of total revenue at the moment, so the manufacturing plant closure that has parents scrambling isn't a disaster for the company as a whole. The nutrition segment's setback didn't stop Abbott from reporting first-quarter revenue that rose 17.5% year over year to $11.9 billion.

Abbott shares have had the rug yanked out from under them along with most stocks that outperformed during the pandemic's early days. Now you can buy the stock for around 20.8 times management's earnings expectations for 2022, which is more than fair for a company growing at this pace. On an adjusted basis, first quarter earnings soared 31% year over year.

Sales of COVID tests reached $3.3 billion during the first three months of 2022 and this isn't the only big growth driver pushing earnings higher. The FDA cleared the company's next-generation continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, called Freestyle Libre 3 in May. As one of the largest companies in the CGM space, Abbott is able to market its new device at a price point its competitors have a hard time matching. 

Right now, Abbott Laboratories stock offers a 1.8% dividend yield. The company raised its payout by 77% over the past five years and its dividend program is as reliable as they get. Abbott recently made its 394th consecutive quarterly payout and it's raised that payout every year since 1972.

Doximity

Many investors gladly will gladly give up steady reliable growth from mature businesses, and dividend payments, for a chance to realize larger gains. If this sounds like you, consider Doximity (DOCS -0.77%), a one-of-a-kind social media stock.

If you aren't a healthcare professional, Doximity probably isn't like any social medial site you're familiar with. For starters, members can comment on curated news that Doximity adds to their feeds, but they can't post their own content. 

The stock has fallen around 39% from its post-IPO price to about 45 times forward earnings expectations. That's a very high multiple but this company is expanding fast enough to grow into its valuation. During Doximity's fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, total revenue rocketed 66% higher.

Nobody's going viral on Doximity but it's still keeping physicians engaged with extremely useful tools, including the Doximity Dialer. This is a way for physicians to use their own smartphones to contact a patient with video or just voice in a setting that complies with complex privacy laws.

This is a high-growth stock but it's already generating positive cash flows it can use to bolster its offerings. For example, the company recently acquired a physician scheduling business called Amion. Now, the Doximilty app lets physicians know who's on call, and reach them directly instead of stopping to call the front desk and have someone paged.

With operations generating a profit in the present, and multiple ways to keep healthcare providers engaged, Doximity has what it needs to stay ahead of any potential competitors for the foreseeable future.