What are the Top Hidden Positive Impacts of Healthcare Technology You Did Not Know About? Well, Technology is thought to be the driving force behind healthcare advancements.
Many people find it difficult to argue with that observation when considering the rate of change and recent innovations.
Advancement in digital healthcare technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, 3D printing, robotics, and nanotechnology, smart cameras and appliances, shapes healthcare’s future.
To control technology, we must become familiar with the most recent developments, not the other way around.
Health informatics graduates will undoubtedly agree that technology impacts many aspects of our lives, as advances in data collection, research, and treatment enable medical providers to use new tools and develop new and innovative ways to practice medicine in the future.
Some important hidden positive technology impacts on Healthcare is discussed below, as technology is extremely important in today’s medical field.
- Telehealth Clinic
Telehealth Clinic
Telemedicine refers to the use of telecommunications technology to advance healthcare. Telehealth is becoming more common and profitable for several reasons.
Patients may use their computers to communicate with a doctor in remote areas where hospitals and other health-related facilities are scarce remotely. Telehealth clinic takes the digitization of healthcare to its next step; letting patients consult over the phone with specialists anywhere in the world.
This type of technology is used in the healthcare system to resolve distance barriers and make medical care more accessible in emergencies, potentially saving lives.
Other benefits include:
- Shorter patient waiting times
- Improved access in rural areas
- Improved efficiency, leading to savings
Telemedicine has made it possible for patients to receive care and support using various video telephony applications.
In telemedicine, the store-and-forward feature helps transmit biosignals, medical images, and other data to a specialist to facilitate asynchronous consultations. This can significantly reduce waiting time for patients, speeding up treatment delivery processes.
2. Digitalization of Health Records
Digitalization of Health Records
The replacement of obsolete paper records with electronic health records (EHRs) has become a game-changer for everyone in the medical sector. Medical assistants, medical coding practitioners, and registered nurses are just a few roles that have been affected by this industry-wide introduction.
Nurses and technicians are in charge of entering patient information into a centralized computer program. Hospital billers and coders update patient records with diagnostic codes (such as test results) and send medical claims to insurance companies during their appointments.
Patients can also access their records with just a click of a button, ensuring that errors are caught faster.
3. Improved medication safety
Improved medication safety
Medication errors & how to minimize them
Technology has introduced a host of digital safeguards that warn clinicians when they’re about to prescribe drugs that might interact or that patients are allergic to. Technology features have replaced books and human memory with automated safeguards that save lives, from computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems to alerting features in electronic health records (EHRs).
4. Higher quality communication and connectivity
Higher quality communication and connectivity
Due to advancements in technology, Physicians and care managers can now communicate with patients between doctor visits and after they’ve been discharged from the hospital.
Some apps, for example, send automated reminders to patients after surgery or during recovery, and algorithm-driven alerts identify patients at risk of hospital readmission or infection.
Patient portals provide patients with online access to their medical records and medication histories and registration, online scheduling, and bill payment options.
5. Telehealth Platforms
Telehealth Platforms
Clinicians can use telehealth platforms to conduct post-operative visits, follow up after hospital discharge, and discuss medication adherence issues without commuting.
Telehealth platforms enable clinicians to conduct post-operative visits, follow up after hospital discharge, and discuss medication adherence issues with patients without requiring them to visit the office, which is a significant benefit for patients with mobility or cognitive problems who live in rural areas.
6. Significant clinical data for analysis and treatment
Significant clinical data for analysis and treatment
The technology generates a large amount of data that can be used to monitor patient care. Pacemakers and stents use the Internet to send automatic updates pacemakers and stents send automatic updates over the Internet.
Devices also enable patients to transmit weight and blood glucose levels. Wearables are made to send exercise and sleep pattern statistics directly to the physician to monitor it easily.
7. Technology combined with analytics
Technology combined with analytics
Further, much of this data and data from the EHR and other platforms are being synched with Big Data to produce reports and analytics that spot population trends and care management gaps.
Technology combined with analytics has provided the ability to sort out best practices for optimizing clinical and economic outcomes.
Although some of this data deluge can be a double-edged sword for clinicians – at least until reimbursement, liability, and capacity challenges are resolved – there is no doubt that the collection and integration of it enable the ability to deliver better, more individualized care.
8. Ease of Workflow
Ease of Workflow
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical billers and coders are the most affected allied health workers, with demand expected to increase by 13% from 2016 to 2026. Medical billers and coders have found that the introduction of EHRs has made their jobs much more manageable.
It takes much less time to enter data into a computer program than to enter data by hand, reducing the risk of errors in inpatient data and financial information. Medical coding experts can now work from home thanks to digital access to patient records, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity.
9. Remote Monitoring Tools
Remote Monitoring Tools
Patients who keep track of their health at home save money and avoid unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office. Researchers found that nearly 3 million patients started using home health monitoring systems worldwide at the end of 2012.
Patients with heart disease can have their pacemakers send data to remote health centers automatically. These tools can allow systems to monitor a patient’s health from a distance, which is beneficial for patients with chronic illnesses.
10. Quick Medical Reports
Quick Medical Reports
Previously, medical test results took weeks or even months to be revealed. With today’s technology, you can get your results almost instantly after the lab has processed your sample.
Many hospitals and clinics now offer web portals where you can get your results in hours or days. This is regarded as a smart move because it relieves the patient’s anxiety while also providing you with the information you require.
Furthermore, web portals allow you to access your previous medical records, and you can also allowing keep track of your appointments, medical issues, and billing.
11. Big Data and the Cloud
Big Data and the Cloud
Big data can generate and collect large amounts of data from a variety of healthcare sources. This information is then used for analytics, which allows for predicting potential epidemics and, ultimately, the prevention of deaths.
Data storage in the cloud increases efficiency and accessibility while decreasing wastage—this aids in developing new treatment protocols and life-saving pharmaceutical formulations. Cloud services can be extremely useful in medical research, allowing for massive amounts of research and analysis and efficient health data exchange. The cloud is a wonderful resource.
The cloud offers secure and cost-effective storage options and backup and recovery capacities without the hassle or expense of maintaining additional server hardware.
How Technology Can Transform Digital Services
The benefits of technology in healthcare are undeniable. All of these healthcare technology benefits, trends, and innovations are available to hospitals that switch to digital. Making the switch ensures a higher level of care across the board. Using digital healthcare services makes it easier to:
- Cutting-edge digital platforms
- Improved operational efficiency
- An integrated approach to patient care
- Automated administrative and clinical processes
- Easier collaboration
- Higher HIMSS
- Enhanced capacity for innovation
- Better patient outcomes
- Reduced costs
Conclusion
In some parts of the world, technological advancements are better incorporated into the healthcare fields than in others.
Developed countries have been able to harness technology better for better patient care, but developing countries are also quickly catching up.
Healthcare providers who haven’t yet taken advantage of the tools that technology provides realize their vast untapped potential and make the necessary changes and investments to streamline processes, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and, most importantly, improve quality of care.