During the pandemic, it has been vital for medical facilities to utilize or invest more in new digital healthcare technologies.
The healthcare sector benefits enormously from going more digital, especially for promoting social distancing. Medical professionals are also improving their relationships with patients by offering more affordable options through digital services.
Instead of patients visiting hospitals for minor incidents, seeking faster solutions online is becoming more economical and convenient. Consumers can order medications online and pick up prescriptions at a local pharmacy.
Digital and mobile technologies are bringing huge benefits to the healthcare sector. By embracing these technologies, healthcare organizations can see better success rates in patient health outcomes, cut costs, and resolve issues at a faster pace. Patients will also have more control of their personal information.
New Healthcare Technologies
Telemedicine is at the forefront for the development of new healthcare technologies and is expected to create more efficient use of staffing and equipment. Here are ways the healthcare industry will gain value by transitioning toward more digital engagement with patients:
- Telemedicine and Smart Technology - The most profound changes in healthcare involve shifting to an infrastructure that supports telemedicine, which provides solutions on multiple levels for urban, suburban, and rural residents. Some of the ways it helps hospitals and patients are reducing physical visits and improving diagnosing and treatment.
- Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) - Going more digital allows doctors to gather more information about the patient, particularly through real-time monitoring. Innovative wearables now used for connecting patients with doctors on a virtual level include ECG and EKG monitors. Doctors can further remotely monitor levels for blood pressure, glucose, temperature, and many other health factors.
- Healthcare Cloud Computing - Private cloud computing has become appealing to healthcare organizations due to how seamless it facilitates large file transfers. Patient medical records are becoming more extensive in the digital age now that hospitals can collect more data with IoT devices. Medical facilities using the cloud approach need to ensure providers are well aware of HIPAA regulations.
- Adoption of AR/VR/MR in Healthcare - New technology such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) are at the foundation of telemedicine. AR involves adding digital elements to a live view, often with the help of a smartphone camera. VR implies complete emphasis on a digital display rather than a physical environment, such as the use of animation to simulate the physical world. And MR is a mix of both AR and VR that allows physical and digital objects to coexist.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation in Healthcare - Machine learning is one of the emerging facets of AI helping reshape telemedicine. Useful problem-solving automated responses to patient medical questions can now be delivered in real-time.
- Increased of Digital Communication Assistants - Chatbots are part of the shift toward digital communication in healthcare. Patients can use chatbots for queries about medical issues to help reach a faster diagnosis. Hospitals can also program evidence-based responses to common patient questions, leading to faster medical treatment.
- Using Analytics to Fine-Tune Forecasting - Predictive analysis will become more accurate with the implementation of deeper data gathering systems. AI-driven technology and IoT devices will contribute to a wider pool of data for machine learning software to draw from.
- Stronger Security via Blockchain Technology - With the amount of sensitive data that has to be stored, privacy is a top concern in the healthcare industry. Blockchain can potentially provide much stronger security since it's much more complex for hackers to penetrate.
Conclusion
Patients and doctors are moving toward providing better patient experiences due to the rapid evolution in healthcare technologies. Staying up to date with constantly improving smart technologies should be a priority for medical professionals in the coming years.
With the right technology solutions, hospitals will be more secure and accurate in making medical predictions, while offering patient more efficient and personalized healthcare services.