Technological Advancements that Have Impacted Healthcare
Technological advancements in the healthcare have improved the quality of life and saved millions of lives. Tech trends have changed patient experiences and made a significant impact on healthcare practices and medical processes. Here are the latest technological innovations in healthcare and their impact on patients and medical professionals.
Electronic Health Records
The digitization of healthcare records is replacing paper records. It's a game changer for many allied healthcare practitioners such as registered nurses, medical assistants, medical billing professionals, and medical record technicians. It's now easier for nurses and technicians to enter patient data into a digitalized system. Moreover, coders and medical billers can easily update patient records, submit medical claims, and schedule appointments. For example, health professionals are using a vendor neutral archive, an emerging medical technology that allows standard storage of health records ranging from documents to images. In fact, clinical researchers can use other systems to access clinical data in a vendor-neutral manner.
Digitized health records keep doctors alert of potential issues such as medicine intolerance and allergies. Allied healthcare professionals can use electronic health records to access your medical history. Digitized health records provide clinical researchers with invaluable data that they can use to develop new treatment and advance medical knowledge.
The Cloud Storage
Big data has brought a new wave in the healthcare industry. It refers to the actionable insights collected from various sources that researchers use for analysis. The healthcare industry receives and stores a lot of data related to healthcare and public aspects. Actionable ideas can be used to reduce healthcare wastage, avoid preventable deaths, reduce healthcare costs, and improve quality of life. The availability of enormous data pools makes it necessary for health facilities to create expandable and safe storage solutions. Cloud computing is perhaps one the reliable and safest storage solution in the healthcare industry. It uses software and hardware to safeguard critical health records. Cloud computing allows patients and healthcare professionals to use Internet-enabled devices to access health records from any location.
Cloud storage allows medical facilities to store masses of health records at a lower cost. It eliminates the limitations of installing an additional server or hardware. Cloud storage technology comes with reliable recovery and backup services that protect against loss of sensitive health records. Cloud computing is an invaluable technology that allows medical researchers to share medical information. Clinical researchers are using cloud computing for data analysis and exchanging health information. The ability to share medical information has fueled the development of life-saving drugs.
Mobile Technology
Approximately 270 million adults in the U.S. own a smartphone, and more people are getting connected to the internet. As with any industry, professionals in the healthcare industry need to transform their communication solutions to connect with patients from any location. Information and communication technology is making it easier for healthcare professionals to share information and link with patients. Health professionals are using telemedicine, smartphones, monitoring systems, and webcam to share medical information. For example, telemedicine is facilitating transmission of healthcare data in the form of electrocardiograms. It's being used in fields such as cardiovascular healthcare.
Medical researchers are using mobile-powered monitoring technology to monitor vital symptoms remotely. Soon, diagnostic medical sonographers will start to use remote ultrasound technology to track critical symptoms and signs. Mobile technology has improved allied healthcare professions and eased the pressure on medical assistants. Telemedicine technology has resulted in improved efficiency, improved access to remote areas, and shorter waiting times for patients. Healthcare professionals can use mobile health technology to complete their tasks from remote locations. For example, a clinical researcher can use a tablet or smartphone to fill prescriptions, review medical history, and access electronic health records of a patient. Coders are working tirelessly to develop healthcare apps that health practitioners can use to interact with patients. In fact, healthcare apps are among the top mobile application markets. Mobile health allows medical billers to alert patients about outstanding bills and payment schedules. In fact, mobile technology reduces costs on paperwork and snail mail. However, there's a need to work out on some mobile health technology as is the case with all tech breakthroughs. Despite the apparent shortcomings, the benefits of mobile health outweigh its disadvantages by far.