Medicine and Tech: 6 Technologies Transforming Healthcare Today
Living in a world full of technology and advancements, we depend on technology now more than ever. Every sector in the world has incorporated technological advancements in their work, making the world extremely tech-savvy. The health sector is enriched with technology making it highly efficient. From maintaining patients’ records to curing them, everything revolves around technology. The role of technology has broadened in the health sector, making it easier for doctors, scientists, paramedics, and other professionals to bring effective cures and precautions against deadly illnesses. The coronavirus outbreak has forced the health sector to develop and adopt new trends. Professionals in health informatics strive to create and adopt new strategies to cater to the industry’s growing needs.
Health informatics is a field of managing information in the health care industry. Individuals in this field look after information systems, data communications, medical care, and decision-making related to the area. The industry is still changing, and technology will impose more changes soon. Therefore, let’s look at six technologies transforming healthcare today. These technologies are a must-have in the new era of digitalization.
1 – Telemedicine
The coronavirus outbreak caused a high influx of patients coming into hospitals and clinics. The inception of telemedicine consultation was around 2019-2020, mainly focusing on virtual communication between a health physician and a patient. It includes channels like video calling and conference calls through various apps, making it easier for patients living in remote locations to get help in mere seconds. A medical panel PC is crucial for this. The pandemic helped doctors treat COVID and Non-COVID patients effectively with proper precautionary measures. This technology has increased the demand for people who have health care degrees. Individuals with a masters healthcare informatics degree are highly preferred as they control various factors.
2 – Electronic Health Records
Technology has brought immense changes in keeping records of patients. Electronic health records have made the life of doctors much more manageable. EHRs, which are digital records of a patient’s medical history, provide enhanced consistency of treatment and improved results. This is because the use of EHRs ensures that clinicians diagnose and treat patients based on a comprehensive assessment of their past and present condition. Moreover, EHRs have also enhanced professional integration, decreased inequities in health care, and expedited telemedicine and online prescribing processes to patients.
3 – Artificial Intelligence
AI has brought remarkable developments in medicine; AI is being utilized in health informatics to increase diagnostic precision and predict high-risk situations. It helps personalize therapy by offering clinicians more insight into symptom patterns and treatment techniques that improve patient outcomes. AI algorithms enable doctors and physicians to see what’s inside a human brain (CAT Scans), thus, making it easier to cure patients in less time. Moreover, like many disruptive technologies, AI and machine learning improve with experience and usage.
4 – 3D Bioprinting
This cutting-edge medical breakthrough is still in its beginning phase, but it has the ability to produce medications, prosthetics, and even human tissue and organs. Scientists successfully manufactured human ears and affixed them to the skin of mice in 2018, representing a significant move forward in the development of 3D printing. Research is still going on in various parts of the world, resulting in positive results for doctors and patients.
5 – Interoperable Healthcare Information Technology System
Health IT systems refer to highly secure systems and allow healthcare workers to share data with potential stakeholders. Here interoperability refers to the ability of the software, information systems, and devices to exchange, access, and analyze data present within the organization, providing information to people (stakeholders) present anywhere in the world. Before the invention of Interoperable systems, patients verbally provided their medical history or asked other doctors to send their files from one place to another. At the same time, Health IT systems allow health care clinicians to access all of a patient’s medical information and history, even if they are scattered across several computer systems in various locations. In addition, it provides a complete view of a patient’s medical history to provide effective treatments.
6 – The Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is not only benefiting the business sector but also the health care industry. Blockchain is a distributed and unchangeable database that makes recording operations and managing assets in a corporate network easier. It is highly secure because only limited people with permission can access it. Doctors and researchers believe it enhances health record administration and insurance settlement, expedites biological and preclinical research, and develops biomedical and healthcare data registers. Moreover, healthcare informatics professionals may discover several other benefits regarding this technology over time.
Final Take
As technology takes over every industry for better or worse, the healthcare sector has definitely benefited from the advancements. Evolution in technology has resulted in higher quality patient care and a greater demand for professionals specializing in data analysis and technological advancements. New degree programs are thus offered, enabling the healthcare industry to use the above-listed technologies in various healthcare facilities efficiently.