Six Ways Technology Is Improving Health Care

If there is one thing in life that you cannot avoid, it’s technology. No matter where you go, life is upgrading so that we can scan our own groceries, travel with tickets on our smartphones and not on paper and it’s allowing our medical care to be improved massively. Technology doesn't just change the way that we act, it changes the way that we are treated. Breakthroughs in the way that we gather data and perform research has meant that treatment and communications have allowed medical practices and hospitals better tools with which to diagnose patients. Not only that, there are fresh ways that doctors are able to practice medicine. We’ve gone from having to wait hours for x-ray and ultrasound results, to being able to be more efficient at the bedside of a patient.

Men's White Dress Shirt

Image Source

This level of efficiency doesn't just improve the way that doctors deliver their care, the bottom line of a medical provider goes up and allows them to stay in business for longer. Technology is also helping people to live longer and live healthier, and with better ways to practice medicine, patients are able to recover quicker. The healthcare industry is embracing technology, and there are six particular ways that technology has really had an impact on healthcare.

Person Holding X-ray Film

Image Source

1. Reliance on the Internet

More and more of the world’s information is going online, and with more and more people using the internet to research their symptoms and medical issues, the internet has become a place that people turn when they cannot get medical care. Considering that some of the major medical journals are now published online, so-called “Google Degrees” are becoming less of something that is sneered at and more the result of people reaching the right information for their research.

2. Patient Outreach

In general, a business that is on social media is a business that will do well. This is because they are able to better reach their patients. Healthcare facilities that use social media can establish contact with patients, answer general practice questions and perform exceptional community outreach. Social media usage can inform patients on practice closures, emergencies and what to do when there’s a crisis. Being able to reach more patients can also enable a practice to issue medicine reminds and vaccination updates - and as more people are going online for their information, this is valuable.

3. Better Medical Equipment

If you think the new upgrade on the iPhone is a good one, then imagine what you’d think of a cardiology ultrasound machine that can be used bedside. Technology has allowed for these new machines that work better to improve treatment and save more lives. As patients can heal directly, the machinery that has been upgraded also allows or improved research which can make healthcare more effective.

4. Medical Worker Productivity

Improved technology has made patient care better and more reliable than ever before. With tablets and handheld computers in medical centers that can record a patient’s history and immediate lab testing results available on them, doctors, nurses and medical staff can all work more in sync with each other to deliver the best possible care. There has also always been a running joke about doctors who cannot write legibly. When everything is online, this is no longer an issue.

5. Able to Reach Doctors

With the touch of a button (and Google Business), people can access doctors instantly. Text message, video chat, email, social media and conferencing facilities all allow for easy access to your doctor, and telemedicine can be helpful and useful for patients in rural settings who need better care. Doctors are also able to reach each other for the right information when they use technology, with some doctors conferencing via video during surgery to be able to assist less experienced doctors who need the guidance. This wouldn’t have been possible previously.

6. Following Medical Trends

With technology, we are able to analyze health information that users search for online, and it’s because of this that we can now accurately predict trends, such as measles and flu outbreaks. This helps the medical experts to respond to outbreaks quickly as well as allow them to take the right preventative measures to ensure that people are informed about these outbreaks as they happen.

The predictions of technology in healthcare in the future are going to mean that medicine continues to save more and more lives, with patients having more confidence in their healthcare providers than ever before. And it’s all thanks to machinery!