How Technology is Changing the Healthcare Industry?
Advancement in technology is the critical player in changing the healthcare industry. Over the past few decades, changing technology has transformed our lives, similarly, there is a dramatic improvement in healthcare delivery.
According to bitrebels, 60% of healthcare organisations have started using IoT. Not only this, 50% people use wearables to track their health and almost everyone is ready to share their daily trackers with their doctors for better monitoring.
Streamlining the communication, video technology for online assistance, health apps for regular monitoring, and many more of such technology advancements has helped the caregivers as well as the patients in reducing healthcare costs, readmission rates, and unnecessary health risks.
Today, technology is an integral part of the healthcare industry. From diagnosing to treating patients, from X-ray machines to MRIs, from managing health records to consulting patients online, technology has a major role in the healthcare industry.
Role of Technology in the Healthcare Industry
Technology in the healthcare industry has potentially transformed inadequate healthcare systems to adequate ones, in providing cheaper, faster and more effective solutions for diseases. Not only this, technology can help us to lead healthier lives as the detection of the disease has become easier and the treatment more effective.
- Minimise errors in dosages, routes, allergies, and interactions
- Effective medical solutions to treat diseases
- Facilitating care by reaching out to patients through whatever channels they prefer
- Health applications that helps caregivers access patient’s full medical history
- Tracking of data that measures the effectiveness of the treatment given to the patients
How Does Technology Affect the Healthcare Industry?
Saving time, energy and money has been the crucial aspect of technology in the healthcare industry. Analysing data, detecting patterns, and predicting future outcomes are some of the benefits brought to better our lives by technology.
Let us know about such advancements in detail:
Artificial Intelligence
AI algorithms are known to design treatment plans, develop medicines or drugs at a faster pace, and diagnose cancerous or non-cancerous tissues. Not only this, AI is able to go through massive amounts of data at once and create insights that lead to better diagnosis and predictions.
Automating a lot of tasks performed by caregivers such as – diagnosing illnesses, suggesting treatments, detecting fraud and abuse, advising doctors have increased the efficiency of the entire healthcare industry.
Atomwise with the help of AI tools unearthed successful drug repurposing that could reduce the infectivity of the Ebola Virus. Similarly, Google’s DeepMind has developed an AI for breast cancer analysis that outperformed trained radiologists in spotting cases of breast cancer.
Virtual Reality
The use of VR, has trained future surgeons and helped qualified surgeons to practise operations. According to Harvard, VR-trained surgeons had a 230% increase in their efficiency as compared to the traditionally trained surgeons.
Not only this, the development of VR has helped the patients with pain management. During labour pains, women are equipped with VR headsets that allow them to visualise landscapes known for giving soothing effects on the mind. Also, patients diagnosed with cardiac, neurosurgical or post-surgery pains have shown a reduction in pain when VR was used as a stimuli.
OssoVR and Immersive Touch have developed software programs that use Virtual Reality that helps train surgeons.
Healthcare Trackers, Wearables, and Sensors
Nowadays, people are becoming more health conscious and they want continuous health monitoring. Smart devices like Fitbit, Polar H10, and more help with monitoring your sleep, heart rate, track workouts, meditation assistance and many more of such functions.
Wearables like Apple Watch help you count your steps, track glucose level, blood oxygen level, heart rate, respiratory rate, and on the latest Apple Watch Series 8, you can even get your wrist temperature.
You will find a device for every requirement in the market- whether you wish to manage your weight or track your water intake, these health care devices fulfil all your such needs.
These trackers are able to best monitor your health and send daily reports to your doctor. Not only this, these trackers, wearables and sensors empower you to take care of your health and help you make informed decisions about your health.
Nanotechnology
Have you heard about PillCam? These pills have really proved helpful in colon examination. A doctor gives you these pills and they swim through your colon, giving them a clear picture of your colon. Later on, these pills are flushed outside from your body through your bowels.
This is Nanotechnology and it is becoming a bigger player in the market. Not only this, smart patches developed by Grapheal allow continuous monitoring of your wounds and its graphene core helps with wounds healing faster.
Who knows, Pillcams can be used in the future to take biopsy samples, remote-controlled capsules, and more. There is no denying that nano surgery is the future.
Robotics
Robotics is the most exciting field of medicine. The examples of recent developments are exoskeletons or disinfectant robots.
Exoskeletons showed a remarkable performance in performing surgeries, lifting elderly patients, aided nursing and more. In the future it is predicted that these exoskeletons will be trained to help mental patients by using these robots as companions to alleviate loneliness.
Jibo, BUDDY, PARO, and Pepper robots are few examples that are being developed and improvised to perform certain tasks. It is sure that these robots are going to take the healthcare industry a notch higher.
Food for Thought
The continuous advancement in technology has majorly influenced the healthcare industry. This revolution in the industry has made healthcare more efficient, accurate, accessible, and personalised for people.
Newer technology leads to – Early and better diagnosis that saves lives and improves patient outcomes!