Healthcare and Technology – Current Trends and Innovations

Various industries and spheres of society have been driven towards improvement by technology. One of the industries that was never going to settle for traditional solutions just for the sake of tradition is healthcare. In healthcare, technology was always a driving factor that helped improve patient care, organization and safety.

This industry constantly changes things, and even if something has been used for a long time it will be replaced by newer and better solutions if possible. In healthcare, being the first one to make changes can mean a lot and patients will appreciate the use of new technologies.

Today we will discuss the current technological trends in healthcare and how they help improve patient care and overall efficiency of these kinds of organization. Bear in mind that these trends change quickly, and in just a month medical facilities might be looking to implement new things.

Big data

Big data is one of the most hyped up technological topics in various industries, including healthcare. There are many different use cases for big data in healthcare. For example, organizations focused on research or academic institutions can use big data for their research projects and improve the way these processes are conducted.

Such institutions work with many participants, statisticians, scientists, contributors and researchers. In this kind of work it is essential to have lots of information available and be able to store it, as well as process it in order to understand what the raw data can provide.

Healthcare professionals can use the internet and powerful search features to find and share valuable information very quickly. Researches can not only get lots of new data for analysis, but they can also find already existing studies and extract data from them, allowing them to create new technologies, techniques and trends in patient care.

Better communication

Communication is a very important aspect of healthcare. A patient almost always goes through different stages of diagnosis and sees multiple different specialists.

All of the doctors need to communicate their findings to each other and stay updated on the patient’s status. When there is proper communication between people who are involved in treating a certain patient, they will be able to provide adequate help and minimize potential mistakes.

On top of that, it is important that the information is delivered quickly, as sometimes the problem could be time-sensitive. Additionally, it’s in everyone’s interest to treat the patient as quickly as possible and improve their well-being. Today medical personnel have the latest devices that can help them communicate effectively and update each other quickly.

Through messaging systems, videos, conferences, emails, calls and various other communication channels, care providers as well as different departments can quickly get in touch and share important information that can improve healthcare quality.

On top of that, medical records are all stored in the cloud and this database is always available to everyone.

Medical records in the cloud

As we mentioned earlier, medical records are no longer stored on paper in big file cabinets. This is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and any organization that manages their files this way needs to change this immediately. All modern healthcare facilities have cloud–based digital solutions which they use to store their files, manage, and edit them as well.

All modern medical facilities have a developed IT infrastructure, i.e. all the doctors and other medical staff have computers available with software solutions in the cloud.

These solutions are designed for inputting medical records digitally, where doctors create an entry for every new patient and they add important information about their previous conditions, medical history, genetics, current, treatments and so on.

All of this information is available to everyone at the facility and everyone can track how a patient is progressing. Additionally, all the information is shown in real time, which means that if someone makes changes and adds edits they can be viewed instantly. On top of that, medical personnel can collaborate, leave comments, and discuss issues on the platform.

Mobile apps

Mobile apps have changed and affected our lives in many different ways. Luckily, developers and medical experts alike have recognized the potential for improving healthcare as well with these mobile applications. And it’s not just healthcare professionals that can benefit from using them, but the patients as well.

There are various mobile apps that can help in many different ways. For example, some apps can be provided to patients to help them get their results as soon as they are processed and learn about their health. Additionally, they can get follow up notifications informing them about what they have to do next, whether they need treatment, medication or they have to meet up for an appointment.

On the other hand, medical experts can search for information on new drugs, treatments, experimental trials and generally educate themselves through apps. They can also give short answers to their patients and see when they have scheduled appointments and with which patients, allowing them to prepare as best as possible for their appointments.

More innovations on the horizon

Like we mentioned earlier, technology innovation in healthcare never stops and there are many exciting news about future technology solutions. Some of the most hyped up ones are Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.

Although AI is still a new technology that is slowly breaking into various industries, chances are that healthcare can have a lot of benefits from it. The first use being AI helping with diagnostics, medication prescription and disease management.

On the other hand, Blockchain can help medical facilities trade valuable information and help improve communication and transactions on a large scale. However, there are many regulatory issues that first need to be tackled.

It is clear that technology is very helpful when it comes to improving healthcare. Given the fact that the 21st century has been bringing big technological advancements, we can expect more improvements in the medical industry as well.