The Importance of Healthcare Technology
All of us are probably aware that technology has made a significant impact on our society. Our ability to communicate with one another wherever we are, and all the other inventions we’re provided with that make our lives easier, are proof of that.
However, aside from the social media networks and household appliances we’ve been using for the past decade, technology has also silently made notable progress in the healthcare industry. It’s about time that we shine the spotlight on these advancements.
Healthcare Advancements
Of all the different ways we’ve benefited from technology, perhaps none is more important than how different we experience healthcare service nowadays. As we move further into the 21st century, the light shines brighter on the future of medicine. Below are some of the best examples of how technology has improved the healthcare industry.
Electronic Health Records
Like with any other industry, healthcare also needs to take care of the paperwork. No one would argue that incorporating computers in storing and accessing patients’ files is essential in medicine. Through the help of medical practice management software, it is now easier for doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to retrieve patient information. Anything from the person’s condition, remaining balance, payment handling, and other medical-related concerns are now just a click away. We can now say goodbye to old, heavy, and unreliable filing cabinets.
Telemedicine
Not a lot of countries have sufficient medical professionals to accommodate the overwhelming number of patients. Even if they do, not everyone has the funds to pay for visiting a doctor. This leads to an indescribable negative impact on the population’s health because of worsening conditions caused by self-medication. Thankfully for all of us, technology has made it possible to gather a medical opinion on a certain case without having to go to a clinic or a hospital. Telehealth services, also known as telemedicine, allow patients to talk to doctors about health-related issues at a significantly lower cost.
Remote Monitoring Tools
One of the main functions of technological advancement in the healthcare industry is to make the entire system accessible to underprivileged people. As you may have already known, visits to the doctor can cost a lot, which is a problem for many people who need to monitor their health conditions. With the invention of remote monitoring tools such as pacemakers or glucose level readers, patients can stay at home and record their health data through these devices and send them to their doctor or local health center.
Remote monitoring tools also make it easier for patients with chronic illnesses to keep up with their maintenance tasks because they wouldn’t have to go to the clinic or hospital anymore. These tools allow patients to be monitored from a distance.
Wearable Technology
Another important invention in the healthcare industry is wearable technology. With the help of devices worn by patients, authorities can be alerted in emergencies such as the patient fainting because of a medical condition. This helps medical professionals respond quicker and attend to a patient at home to apply first aid. In addition to this, advancements in the medical industry are about treating a patient, gathering medical opinions, and actively taking care of one’s health.
\Wearable technology such as Fitbit displays essential data about a person’s current condition and even records their heart rate or burnt calories. This makes it easier for people to keep track of their health and conduct activities to improve their bodies.
Medication Safety
Aside from improvements in providing patients with medical services, doctors and nurses have also made it extremely safer to prescribe certain medications. With the help of programs that cross-reference medicines for checks and balances, doctors would be alerted about medicines they plan to prescribe potentially dangerous because they may interact with other medications the patient is undertaking. It is not a secret that human error provides a certain amount of danger to a person’s health, and with computerized prescription systems, this risk is significantly reduced.
Prosthetics
You’ve probably heard of 3-D printing technology being used in all sorts of fields. This invaluable invention is also currently being developed in the healthcare industry. Because of 3-D printing technology, it is now extremely easier for doctors to provide prosthetics to people with disabilities for extra comfort and mobility. In addition to this, 3-D printing technology is also used to create joint or bone replacements needed for a medical operation.
Every citizen deserves the right to a proper healthcare system, and even though there is still plenty of room for improvement, we can definitely say that we see some light over the horizon. With the rapid growth of technology, various medical services are becoming more and more accessible to people from all walks of life.
