Top Ways Technology has Helped the Healthcare Industry
Technology is advancing on a daily basis, which means that new developments are constantly making their way into our lives. Whether it is how you communicate with your pals, how you travel, the job you do or how you shop, technology is transforming the way we do everything. The same is applicable to the healthcare industry. Medical providers now have access to new tools and equipment to work due to breakthroughs in research, information gathering, communications and treatments and this has enabled them to practice medicine in a better way.
Over the years, technology has had some major impacts on healthcare and some of the top ones are highlighted below:
The internet as a source of medical information
Initially, people were hesitant to rely on the internet because there was a chance that what they found would be a hoax. However, it has now become the norm for people to search for pretty much everything on the internet and this also includes medical information. They are looking up symptoms and also exploring medicines and treatments on the web. Yes, it is not a good idea to completely skip going to the doctor, but the internet has definitely come in handy in helping people becoming empowered and making decisions about their health.
Healthcare facilities have become accessible through social media
Doctor offices, public clinics, and even research facilities are now taking advantage of social media tools for reaching a greater part of the population. Hospitals, in particular, are using social media for establishing contact with patients, answering their questions about practices, performing community outreach and launching public awareness campaigns. There are some highly sophisticated websites that even offer instant chats with doctors and nurses about different medical issues and can also be used for sending reminders to patients for getting needed vaccines and tests.
Less suffering and better treatment
The most obvious way that technology has changed the healthcare industry is by providing new medicines, machines, and treatments that have helped in saving lives and also improving the chances of recovery for billions of people all over the globe. Sophisticated gadgets have been introduced and these include remote monitoring tools that can come in handy for checking on the elderly, self- service kiosks and portal technology. Health and fitness gadgets can be used by everyone, including the elderly for monitoring their blood pressure, sugar levels and temperature. As detailed in this post, with financial support for caregivers, home care facilities can easily manage to provide these gadgets and helpful tech for elderly. In addition, new technology has also made research easier and this has contributed to more effective healthcare.
Better and more accessible doctors
Doctors now have the ability to access thousands of medical books with just a few taps on their smartphone. Online medical databases can also be used for looking up case studies and checking out the detailed medical history of the patient. Moreover, they can also make use of texts, emails, videos and conference facilities for consulting with colleagues all over the world. This practice is called telemedicine and is particularly useful for patients in rural and under-developed regions.
