Technology has become an inseparable part of our lives and has impacted every aspect of our daily routine. Although we used technology to complete various tasks in different sectors, our reliance on it has grown since the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Be it the education sector or retail, technology has changed the way we used to interact and receive and provide services. However, one of the most important sectors that technological advancements have influenced is the healthcare industry. Over the past few years, technology has become an integral and inseparable part of the health care sector.
Unfortunately, healthcare hasn’t always been able to offer flawless and most accurate services to those in need. However, with time and the incorporation of advanced technological devices and systems, healthcare quality has improved, and healthcare professionals have been able to provide better diagnoses, treatments, and care for various health issues and diseases.
With technology becoming an integral part of healthcare, the global medical technology industry is valued at nearly half a trillion U.S. dollars, and this number is predicted to go up exponentially in the coming years.
Keep reading this blog to learn more about some surprising ways technology has changed and improved healthcare quality.
1) It Has Helped Digitalize Health Records
Managing and maintaining huge files of health records is a huge hassle for patients as well as healthcare professionals. Physical records also take up a lot of space, and there’s a high risk of them getting misplaced. If these records get lost, it can get very hard to get patient’s history from scratch.
However, technological advancements have given rise to data digitization, which has helped replace paper records with a more manageable form of electronic health records. Nurses and other relevant healthcare professionals input patient data into a digitized central system. Coders and billers keep the patient records up to date with the help of diagnostic codes and submit the medical claims to the insurance companies.
Digitized health records have also enabled patients to access their health records with just a few clicks. Electronic healthcare records have the ability to automatically alert the healthcare professional to issues such as intolerances to medicines, allergies, and other such things.
2) Technology Has Changed How Doctors And Patients Communicate
The terms telehealth and telemedicine are used a lot these days. These terms refer to the video consultations between physicians and patients. Although video chatting isn’t a new concept, telemedicine and telehealth gained a lot of traction as the COVID-19 started to spread, and social distancing restrictions were placed worldwide.
This meant that patients couldn’t visit hospitals and clinics to attend their doctors’ appointments, which caused many problems. Telemedicine and telehealth came into the spotlight to deal with this issue.
This technology has enabled healthcare practitioners to interact with their patients while following all the SOPs and allowed the patients to get their regular consultation sessions. Not only are telemedicine and telehealth great ways to interact with doctors and patients, but they also save time and money it takes to travel to the hospital, and patients also don’t have to wait long hours in the waiting room for their turn.
Telemedicine has also improved the efficiency and quality of healthcare and has helped patients in rural areas to have improved access to healthcare professionals.
3) Technology Has Given Rise To High-Quality and Reliable Healthcare Apps
There’s an application for everything these days, from education, food delivery, shopping, to even healthcare. New healthcare apps are being introduced, improved, and developed each day, and these can be used by patients as well as healthcare practitioners. Healthcare apps are probably one of the fastest evolving and growing markets in the mobile application industry.
Mobile healthcare applications have a lot to offer and have a ton of benefits. They offer great flexibility to all the concerned parties. They are probably the cheapest and most inexpensive ways for patients to access quality healthcare and for healthcare facilities to offer better and improved services to the patients.
All healthcare apps offer different facilities; some facilitate effective discourse between patients and healthcare professionals, while others work hard to spread healthcare awareness. Some of the most important healthcare areas that mobile apps help with include mental health, fitness, weight loss, medical reference, management for chronic care, diagnostics, and much more.
Mobile healthcare technology makes it easier for caregivers to monitor patients residing in remote areas. These apps also give the patients quicker access to care and healthcare providers without having to wait for months for a single checkup or consultation session.
4) Use Of Artificial Intelligence Has Made It Easier For Healthcare Practitioners To Create Treatment Plans
Artificial Intelligence technology, also known as AI, is a powerful and essential tool that has revolutionized healthcare. This technology can mine through large volumes of medical records. The AI algorithms can create efficient treatment plans while factoring in the patient’s conditions and can also help diagnose noncancerous and cancerous tissue samples.
Artificial Intelligence can also be used to design new drugs for a wide range of diseases and illnesses.
5) Healthcare Wearables, Trackers, And Sensors Enable Patients To Keep Track Of Their Health
Empowering patients is one of the most crucial steps to improve healthcare quality, and technology plays a huge role in doing so. Empowering patients involves enabling them to take better care of their health.
One of the best ways we can keep track of our health is through the use of healthcare wearables, trackers, and sensors. These devices will allow you to keep track of your health and will give you more control over your life.
Devices like fitness trackers can help you monitor the steps you’ve taken each day, the calories you’ve burned and also allow you to keep track of the hours you’ve slept and the amount of water you should intake. All these things and more can help you plan your workouts and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Whether you want to manage your stress better, shed those extra pounds, sharpen your cognitive abilities, or want to feel healthier and more energetic, these wearables will allow you to reach your goals efficiently. You’ll also be able to make better and more informed decisions regarding your health.
6) Technology Can Help Hospitals Manage Equipment More Efficiently
Not only does technology help provide better healthcare treatments and diagnoses, but it can also assist with healthcare management.
From IV poles, wheelchairs, infusion pumps, and ventilators to hospital beds and heart monitors, all this equipment and many others are always in high demand. It’s crucial to manage them to avoid chaos and ensure their availability in times of crisis.
Technology can play a huge role in helping hospitals and clinics to manage their equipment efficiently and in an organized manner. Putting RTLS tags to each piece of equipment can make it much easier to identify and track the location of all the available assets.
7) 3D Printing Technology Can Help Print Artificial Limbs In No Time
3D printing has taken every industry by storm, but it has especially affected the healthcare industry. This technology allows healthcare professionals to print blood vessels, bio tissues, artificial limbs, pills, and much more. The list of things that can be printed with the help of 3D printing technology is never-ending.
Some researchers have also discovered a method to print live skin with the blood vessels with the help of this technology. This is a major development for skin grafts and burn survivors. 3D printing offers a quicker and much cheaper alternative to conventional methods.
8) Technology Has Revolutionized Drug Development
The commonly used process of developing drugs isn’t cost-effective and also takes a lot of time. However, using technologies like AI and 3D printing, the entire process of drug development can be improved.
A new and upcoming medical technology involves using personalized digital simulations in developing healthcare products, interventions, devices.
9) Augmented Reality Is Becoming A Driving Force In The Healthcare Sector
Augmented Reality or AR is different from virtual reality as the users don’t lose touch or grasp of reality, and the information is quickly placed into eyesight. These distinctive and innovative features for the patients as well as the healthcare professionals have made AR a leader in the future of the healthcare industry.
It can help medical students prepare for surgeries in real-life and also assist seasoned surgeons to improve and hone their existing skills. This technology allows students and healthcare professionals to access a detailed and accurate representation of the human body and anatomy through digital means and eliminates the need to study with the help of actual humans.
10) Technology Has Helped Create Medical Devices That Give Reliable Readings
Medical devices have been around for a long time, but most of them employed conventional means to operate and give results. However, with the help of technological development in the field of health sciences, more and more companies are inventing medical devices that can help diagnose and treat medical conditions in a better and more efficient manner.
From home pregnancy tests to digital weighing machines, these medical devices have made it easier for patients to check their vitals by themselves and enable them to make smarter decisions about their health. Some medical devices, such as Breezing, a one-of-a-kind mobile metabolic rate analyzer, also connects to the users’ mobile phone and give a detailed analysis about their health conditions which can also be shared with the healthcare professionals.
The best thing about these medical devices is that technology has enabled them to provide accurate results, and which reduces the dangers and risks of guesswork and assumptions in the healthcare industry.
Another benefit of technological medical devices and equipment is that they significantly reduce the time it takes to see the results. Most of these devices are able to give results about even the most complex body functions, such as the metabolic rate, within a few minutes. This helps patients and healthcare professionals take immediate action in case of emergencies.
Get In Touch With Breezing And Learn About The Best Metabolic Rate Analysis Device
As technology has become an imminent part of the healthcare industry, several innovative and useful devices are being introduced that can help diagnose and deal with a wide array of health issues. Some common healthcare devices include blood pressure machines, glucometers, and many more.
These devices usually give accurate results and can be used easily by healthcare professionals and patients alike. However, there’s one body function whose performance is difficult to assess – the metabolic rate. It’s one of the most important bodily functions that dictates how many calories we should intake and burn on a daily basis.
Although there are many online calorie calculators and equations used to calculate the calorie requirements and metabolism, most of them don’t take into account individual conditions and other body reactions and give unreliable and inaccurate results that are based on assumptions.
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This product is the world’s first obesity management product and was created by experienced and award-winning medical professionals. It uses a sensor technology that helps measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide in your breath and calculates the metabolic rate.
We also manufacture premium-quality medical devices that are backed by evidence and can be used without any hassle. Our current product Breezing Med was also showcased at the Obesity Week in November 2021.
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