4 New Trends in Health |
Posted: January 12, 2018 |
The advent of technology has significantly changed almost all industries in the 21st century. From the way we work in the office to the way we interact with friends and family mainly through social media platforms, technology has had a positive impact on all aspects of the human life. The healthcare industry has not been an exception. No one can dispute the ability of technological innovations in the healthcare industry to help us live longer and lead a better quality of life. Digital transformations have given rise to surgical robots, health supplements such as crossfit supplements, new treatment technologies and enhanced the way medical professionals store data for future use. For instance, the expenditure on national health in the United States federal budget is expected to drop by almost $300 billion in the next three years. All this is thanks to the digitization of healthcare services to the American citizen. It is without a doubt that the incorporation of technology in the delivery of healthcare services will add both financial and human value to our day-to-day lives. In this article, we shall highlight the emerging technological trends that have revolutionized the healthcare industry. Telemedicine A survey carried out by the Centre for Disease Control back in 2015 on doctors suggested that 80% of healthcare professionals prefer telemedicine to the traditional visits by the patient to the doctor’s office. Most doctors said in the research that telemedicine offered more accessibility and freedom to both the healthcare professionals and the patient. This technology has removed the geographical limitations to the options available for patients when accessing treatment. With just internet connectivity, patients from the most remote and inaccessible parts of the country can access high-quality treatment and healthcare services. All a patient needs is a personal computer or the mobile devices available such as smartphones and tablets. With telemedicine, patients and doctors can save a lot of time and money involved in the routine office visits and follow-up checks. Instead, telemedicine offers the patient the option to just video call their healthcare professional and get the update or prescription they need. Cloud access and mobility Accessibility to the cloud technology has been of great help in increasing the patient’s convenience to healthcare services. It is projected that by the year 2018, 65% of all the treatment and health check-up interactions between doctors and patients will be carried out using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. As of today, an estimated 80% of physicians all across the United States on a daily basis. A further 72% of doctors access information about drug prescriptions on a regular basis through mobile devices. Technology has made the traditional file rooms and paperwork almost obsolete. Health insurance firms, healthcare facilities, and healthcare providers are now using cloud technology to store their patients and prescriptions data. With cloud technology, doctors can access vital information on a patient’s history records, standard procedures applied in the diagnosis and prescription of a particular condition. All you need to obtain information on the cloud is internet connectivity. Cloud has led to the increased patient protection and information privacy in compliance with HIPAA regulations. Big data and artificial intelligence Big data is fundamental to the digital world, and the healthcare industry has not been an exception. Big data can be used to analyze the patient satisfaction regarding the service provided. The most critical use of big data in the healthcare industry is that the analysis of data collected can be used to identify health risk factors automatically. This enables healthcare professionals to put in place mitigating factors in the event of a looming disease outbreak.
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