Nowadays, health informatics, which brings together information systems, data, communication and medical services, is transforming the health care sector. The development of technology has caused a broad-based upsurge of invention in all areas of the medical profession. Technology is on the cutting edge of completely changing the health care system, from artificial intelligence to 3-D bioprinting and further.
1. mHealth
mHealth, the application of portable gadgets for medical aid, is giving a significantly more advantageous involvement for patients and facilitating care. An ever-growing selection of mobile apps are providing patients with the tools to more effectively control their health, contact healthcare professionals, arrange appointments, and access health-related facts. Technology is also aiding healthcare providers in getting patients to stick to their treatment plans through tools that allow remote tracking of particular health issues and medical equipment. A select few mobile technology companies, namely Wellframe, MedWand, WellDoc, Pager, Oscar Health, and Vesta Healthcare, are taking on the challenge of revolutionizing the communication between medical professionals and their patients in the modern day world.
2. Telemedicine
Telemedicine is comparable to mHealth in that it involves digital interaction between doctor and patient. Telemedicine allows physicians to interact with their patients remotely via video link, meaning there is no longer any requirement for people to drive to a clinician’s practice. Telemedicine has been incredibly beneficial for individuals lacking access to medical care due to their geographical isolation, restricted transportation, or lack of mobility.
The employment of telemedicine saw an immense rise in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
3. Electronic Health Records
Electronic Health Records provide improved patient care and better results through giving physicians an all-inclusive view of a patient’s medical history and current state of health, guaranteeing that patients are being treated and diagnosed correctly. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have helped to bring together providers and lower differences in the availability of healthcare. Furthermore, they have made tasks such as issuing prescriptions and giving remote treatments easier.
In the modern world, characterized by digital connectivity, Electronic Health Records empower both healthcare practitioners and patients. Doctors are able to better coordinate care while simultaneously improving accuracy, while patients have the capabilities to advocate for their healthcare needs. They can get all of the details they need concerning their medical history right away. Patients of many clinics and hospitals have the ability to access their medical documents and test results, as well as converse with their main health care provider, through patient portals. Further benefits of the widespread use of EHRs include:
- Improved patient care
- Improved diagnostics and patient outcomes
Interoperability enables the set-up of a secure system that ensures instantaneous access to and distribution of health information and data to only those that are allowed, without considering where they are based.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) provides a more in-depth explanation. The capacity to allow different information systems, devices, and applications to access, share, and collaborate with each other’s data, both internally and beyond organizational, regional, and national limitations, in an effort to optimize the wellness of people across the planet quickly and efficiently is known as interoperability.
In the past, patients had to locate and transfer all of their medical records when visiting a new doctor, depend on their medical network to distribute information, or simply provide the physician with a verbal recount of past treatments. But using Health IT technology, medical professionals can get their hands on a person’s entire medical folder and history, even if the recordings have been placed on a variety of varied computer systems in diverse places. It is essential that care be provided without interruption and that medical staff at any healthcare setting will have access to a complete medical record of the patient.
5. Wearables
Wearable technology provides another opportunity in addition to electronic health records to acquire data, encourage preventive care, and advance the wellbeing of those who utilize them. One of the original and more well known wearable devices were the smartwatch and Fitbit, yet today there is a dramatic rise in the quantity and features of wearable devices.
Wearable technology has the benefit of being able to notify the wearer and their doctor of any medical issues that arise unexpectedly. Wearable technology obtains accurate information that is collected and assessed by a computer program, which is able to alert physicians regarding any health problem their patient may have. This permits physicians to take the initiative and get in touch with people who could require urgent medical assistance without even knowing it. An illustration of this is individuals with asthma who put on an ADAMM (Automated Device for Asthma Monitoring and Management). This monitor links up with an application and can inform wearers and their physicians if a asthma attack or other medical crisis is about to happen.
6. 3D Bioprinting
This cutting edge medical development is still in the developmental stages, but has the ability to produce medicines, artificial limbs, and even human tissue and organs. In 2018, researchers created 3D printed human ears and successfully implanted them on the backs of mice, which marked a significant breakthrough in the development of 3D printing.
It is exciting to report that doctors in Australia have successfully put a 3D printed vertebrae inside a human patient who had chordoma cancer. Three-dimensional orthopedic implants are improving joint and bone replacement, making for more accurate-fitting, longer-lived and better performing replacements. It is predicted that over four million orthopedic implants will have been used on patients by the year 2027.
7. Artificial Intelligence
The incorporation of advanced artificial intelligence technologies has provided numerous benefits to hospitals. AI and machine learning technology is being put to use in healthcare and health informatics to help medical professionals increase their diagnostic accuracy and predict possible risk factors. Artificial Intelligence is also contributing to the personalization of care, as doctors gain a deeper understanding of symptom patterns and treatments that are likely to result in a positive patient outcome. David B. mentioned how the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enable us to look more deeply into data related to health conditions – something that would ordinarily be beyond the capacity of the human brain, but can be done by a computer. Dr. Agus is a professor at both the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and the Viterbi School of Engineering, teaching both medicine and engineering.
8. Robotics
Due to increased capacities of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, robots are becoming more involved in providing care and attending to maintenance tasks within facilities. Robots with highly advanced AI are being used to help with surgical procedures, as well as delivering and transporting goods. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Xena is an essential aid in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This robot, one of two being used at Avera McKennan hospital, is used to disinfect operating rooms and eradicate superbugs. In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Zimmer Biomet Holdings’ ROSA robot-assisted total knee replacement procedure.
9. Blockchain
Blockchain is a revolutionary development that is enhancing the safety of information in numerous fields, particularly in the health care field. Blockchain serves as a record-keeping system in a business network that is shared between all participating members, and it is impossible to modify or delete. It enables the tracking of assets and logging of any transactions. An asset can be something material (e.g. a house, a car, cash, land) or something abstract (like intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Almost any valuable thing can be followed and exchanged through a blockchain system, diminishing danger and decreasing expenses for everybody concerned. The concept implies that the record cannot be changed by anybody after it has been inputted, making that information exceedingly protected yet also conveniently obtainable.
The immunity from tampering that blockchain offers is what is appealing to health care providers. The U.S. The National Library of Medicine foresees blockchain technology as a way to facilitate record keeping in the healthcare system, facilitate clinical studies, and create a secure record of biomedical data.
Key points about futures for healthcare
Healthcare exists solely to tend to patients, and their needs should be the driving force. This paper focuses on the potential technologies and catalysts in healthcare; it must be studied in conjunction with reports based on patients-oriented views like the Future Hospital: Caring For Medical Patients issued by the Royal College of Physicians.3
Technology does not have a purpose of assisting with healthcare needs, even though it would be nice to focus on the advantages. It grows due to being made smaller in size, reducing expenses of manufacture, and the like, not primarily because it betters people’s health, but because it is able to make a profit and reinvest it. Koppel and Gordon’s compilation First Do Less Harm is suggested as a general overview of the subjects discussed. 4
The rate at which change is happening is speeding up: if someone from a hundred years ago had gone into the future, they would have noticed some variation; yet, if they had gone much further back in time, they would notice only small modifications, such as William Harvey uncovering the idea of blood circulation, with barely any changes prior to Hippocrates.
Humans stay the same, even given the fast-based advances in technology. The power dynamics of healthcare, work arrangement, the illusion that medical professionals know all, and other human elements are difficult to shift. Even though we are aware of the existence of germs and the importance of sanitation, we are still reluctant to wash our hands.
There are many futures to plan for. Once we reach our goal, something else will be waiting for us, and we will often find that partial solutions are replaced by even improved concepts. We may be focused on computerizing all patient records at present, however before the process is completed, a new technological advancement could modify our desired methodology. We will have to get used to having technology that is not functioning properly and is scattered for the time being.
It is essential that we do not underestimate the importance of the future, as it is the only thing that is certain for us and our children. Additionally, it is unavoidable that we will be faced with the difficulties associated with aging as we get older. Surely, we want healthcare to improve in the future? We should not just put effort into planning for the future once, but keep it up on an ongoing basis.
Technical factors
The healthcare sector is an attractive market for technology, as it is commonplace for hospitals to invest massive amounts of money in equipment like PET and MRI scanners and linear accelerators, especially those that offer a sense of prestige.
Accelerated cost savings
Machines are utilized to perform tasks that needed to be done manually before. Prior to the development of infusion pumps, nurses had to administer injections at set intervals; usage of infusion pump technology has automated the process. The nurse’s attention can be now devoted to other endeavors, and the company that produced the infusion pump will be able to lower production expenses if they have taken advantage of technology. The plastic moulding process will facilitate the mass production of infusion pumps; the programming of the first infusion pump creates a template which permits the production of millions to proceed at minimal cost. The virtuous cycle of deploying tech for further tech advancement causes prices to become lower, market power to grow, and profits to increase. This in turn allows businesses to put money into more sophisticated production and distribution solutions.
It is essential to note that these advantages do not apply to singular or extraordinary issues that cannot be produced on a large scale. This implies that a tool such as an MRI scanner, which can provide an equal service to any individual, is bound to be more preferred than one which needs to be tailored to a certain person’s situation.
Personal healthcare
Already, the assumptions of mass production are changing. For instance, modern 3D printers can create any form; although they are not quite as efficient as the traditional mass production approach, the expenses of having customized items of a certain type has gone down significantly. It is now possible to create titanium implants in specific shapes and sizes that will fit properly. It is believed that efficacious medicaments will be developed to suit the individual, based on their medical condition and their genetic characteristics. The advantages of this for patients appear to be huge, but there is also potential for danger. For instance, a medication created specifically for one individual can be highly effective, but that same individual might experience unique side effects that are difficult to diagnose and take care of.
Personal healthcare has an interesting technological imperative. If we tailor healthcare programs to individual people, then the potential market goes from clinicians to entire populations, which can be orders of magnitude larger in size.
Big data
Patients amass a great deal of data – medical reports – ranging from X-rays to blood analysis outcomes. Utilizing digital summaries in lieu of paper ones has made patient care more streamlined and efficient. In the future, a great amount of data will accumulate due to advancements in the field of genomics (and the sequenced genomes of our beneficial bacteria) as well as personalized medicine. Asmore details on individual patients are collected, greater discoveries can be made.
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