Technology has become a vital part of our lives. It plays an important role in every industry, but it has also positively affected the field of medical and healthcare. There is no denying the fact that technology has saved many lives. From the new and improved treatments, the best tools for diagnosis, as well as painless and quick healing procedures, the best part is that it keeps improving every day.
With new treatments coming in, the chances of getting better outcomes have gone higher, which has resulted in an overall improvement in the quality of life of the patients. In this article, we have listed down some of the technological changes that have taken place in recent years.
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Say goodbye to the old bulky and dusty paper files and hello to the digitalized methods of recording data. You don’t have to sort through the tower of files to find old records of the patients anymore.
All the uploaded data is secure in the cloud and is easily accessible for all concerned healthcare professionals and stakeholders. The next time you go for a regular check-up, you won’t have to wait for hours. The nurses and technicians are assigned to input all the information into the digitalized system.
Through this, the medical coders and billers can update the patient’s records with specially assigned diagnosis codes as well as sending out the medical history to the insurance companies. Patients, too, can access all the information with just a click of their mouse or a tap on their smartphone screens, and wouldn’t have to go through the unreadable handwriting. That is such a relief for a layman.
If you thought about robots replacing humans was a myth, you might have to re-think. That is right! You will not only witness just any robot in the future, but it would actually be “robot nurses.” Frightened? Well, don’t be, they mean no harm but are here to help.
Robot nurses are specially designed to assist the doctors in surgeries, clean the disinfected room, assign medications, and who knows they can be good at keeping the company, too.
These machine operated nurses will bring in a huge impact in the near future. Of course, these machines have to pass all safety standards like any mechanical and electrical devices used in hospitals.
China, however, is way ahead of us. A hospital in Thailand had asked China for assistance since they struggle with an increasing number of patients. In return, China sent out Nan, Nim, and Nee, three robot nurses for this task. The three spent their days sorting the documents, dealing with patients, and handling all the administrative duties. How cool is that?
Apart from the digitalized records, patients also have access to their medical information in their smartphones. You can keep track of all your data, get reminders to your next doctor’s appointment, as well as a reminder to take your medicine on time.
Not just that, but these apps can also save lives. Sounds strange, right? Last year, a man named Nate Felix was saved by the popular iPhone assistant, Siri. According to Nate, when he crashed his jeep, he had no idea what to do because he and his dog were stuck in the jeep. He thought of calling for help from his phone, but he could not reach it. Then it struck him, “Hey Siri, call 911,” and Siri connected the call. Thus, the rescue team came in no time. So yes, your phone can save your life.
Cloud is a popular buzzword you may have heard in various industries. The healthcare industry is no exception. Thanks to big data, the possibility of storing huge and heavy data now exists. The information is used for analysis, predictions of a possible outbreak, and prevention of deaths.
With the vital information stored, there was a need to scale and secure the data as well as to keep it a cost-effective option. This is when the cloud entered the frame. Using the internet, cloud stores, and delivers services using software and hardware. Through this, healthcare professionals and patients can get access to all the information anytime, anywhere.
To enhance the care of patients, an RFID (radio-frequency identification) is introduced that can track the record of the patient’s vital signs, and body temperature.
Similarly, there are many things that technology has improved completely in the healthcare industry. Devices such as virtual reality devices are designed to reduce the depression and anxiety levels of patients having mental illnesses as well as aiding them in the postoperative recovery procedure. Apart from that, the virtual reality also assists the surgeons in carrying out intensive operations.
We have also seen the arrival of robotic knees for the empiric patients as well as gene therapy for cancer patients.
Telemedicine or ‘telehealth’ is the same thing which is referred to as a two-way video communication or consultation. It is used in various fields, especially cardiovascular healthcare.
Telemedicine allows the patient to practically consult their doctors no matter where on earth they live in. This method ensures no barriers in the healthcare industry and is perfect for traumatic situations and reduce the fatality rate. With the help of telemedicine, medical images, bio signals, and other essential data are easily transmitted to the specialist, thus allowing the specialist to conduct asynchronous consultations.
This process is quick and effective and saves the patients, especially the old ones, the hassle to run back to their doctors when they are traveling.
This sector of healthcare has also been rapidly improving in recent years. Surgeons and doctors have easy access to all the research studies and diverse population groups that gives them insights into diseases, genetics, and care-related outcomes.
Doctors can easily compare a patient’s data with another, which allows them to locate the risk factors and come up with appropriate medial solutions to cure the disease.
Technology can change lives for the good. But sadly, not every country can take advantage of this blessing for now. Developed nations tend to benefit from this, thus improving their healthcare sector, whereas developed nations are catching up. Countries like Africa are in dire need of such facilities. However, if this sort of improvement in the healthcare sector continues, humans would be able to battle any disease in the times to come.
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