7 ways technology is changing the healthcare industry

Introduction

I think we all are aware that technology takes a big part in our lives.

But even before them, there was always something, created by humans, that made a big change in people’s everyday life. This includes innovations in medicine.

Even nowadays, being a doctor or a scientist comes with financial security and plenty of opportunities.

But what would happen if we combine the fastest growing industry with one that has always been needed?

Apps, device sand software

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about something, that combines medicine and technology?

Well, these are things that most of us use every day.

We have watches that we use when training, apps that check if we have done enough physical training for the day.

There are different types of apps for calorie tracking, etc.

We can share this information when we visit our doctor. These are devices and apps that make our lives a lot easier.

There are different types of software, created in the last years.

Their main idea is to keep us healthy in away.

For example, the main purpose of Iris is to protect our eyes from blue light and keep the normal functions in our body.

3D printing

At this point, all of us have heard about 3D printing technology.

It may sound a little scary but actually this is something that has helped doctors all over the world.

Nowadays we use 3D printing to create human body parts, hearing aids, dental devices and even to replace skin and organs.

Think about what would be the next step, if we are already able to create human body parts and organs?

Bearing in mind that we live in a certain era and people have always been …well, people, there is one question that comes in our minds.

How many of us are able to use that type of “service”?

Unfortunately, we know the answer, and we know that this type of “service” is not something all of us can afford.

Hopefully, in the future things change.

Robots and artificial intelligence

The 3D printing leads us to our next, very interesting stop.

Artificial intelligence is something used for a base for a lot of American sci-fi movies.

Most of the times the ending is scary and leads to robots controlling our planet, humankind – destroyed and so on, and so on.

Well, in the healthcare industry there is no place for fear of technologies.

It’s actually the other way around.

In the latest researches, it’s actually proven that AI (artificial intelligence) can diagnose more accurately strokes, skin cancer, heart and eye diseases.

And what about the robots?

Well, we will always need human doctors and surgeons but at the end of the day, they are people.

People make mistakes. Using robots in surgeries can lead to better results, fewer mistakes, more precise cuts.
Again this is something that helps surgeons, not replace them.

At least for now.

Virtual reality

The great minds on our planet come up with big, life-changing ideas all the time.

What is the latest one that can be used in the healthcare industry?

The so-called VR headsets can be used to train healthcare workers.

How? They immerse themselves in different simulated scenarios.

This way future doctors and nurses become more confident, more practical, and just better and faster at making decisions. Isn’t this what we all expect when we visit a hospital?

And this is not all!

Scientists in Boston have developed glasses that allow doctors to see inside patients’ bodies.

For this, they use data from scans. Again, this is an innovation that helps not only specialists but patients as well.

Telemedicine

In Telemedicine people can transmit information regarding their health to a doctor.

And they don’t have to wait in front of the doctor’s office for hours.

Have you heard about medical tourism?

If a patient wants a second opinion or if they really need some help from a doctor that lives in another continent, what is the first step they can take?

Buy a plane ticket? Well, no.

There are apps that allow you to contact a doctor in any part of the world to get a diagnosis.

This is also connected to our next innovation.

Electronic Health Records

You know how, when you are sick, and you need to go to 2 or 3 different specialists for a diagnosis, you have to take with you all of the papers that you have with your test results, prescriptions. 

This just makes things harder and more annoying.

Yes, let me introduce you to Electronic Health Records!

These records consist of a patient’s tests, surgeries, diagnosis, medical history, allergies. Yes, all of this.

The good part is that they can access them right away, so you don’t have to wait.

The specialist will be able to get this data more easily and see if there has been made a mistake with your diagnosis.

This makes the whole process a lot easier and not so painfully annoying for the ill patient, and all of this, thanks to technology.

Using this data, doctors will be able to contact each other faster and discuss any of the problems they could find in your record.

5G

In the future 5G will make it possible for surgeons to perform operations, using a robot, from another continent. How great is that!

If just for a second we erase all of our memories, connected to scary sci-fi movies, we will actually find all of this very amusing.

People in the past were dying from the plague, for example, and this is something that can’t happen today.

Innovations are here to help us.

They show us how beautiful the human brain is because after all, we, humans, create this magic called technology.

 

Author: Maq Peteva