Since the dawn of history, human life has been dependent on medical care and facilities. As our civilization is advancing, so is technology. In this ever-evolving technological era, a deep connection has been made between healthcare and trailblazing technologies.
First, let us describe how the term “Health Technologies” is broken into different components.
Health technologies are a vast category, comprised of All instruments, medications, vaccines, treatments, and systems aimed at streamlining healthcare processes, lowering costs, and improving patient quality.
Lately, we are seeing the most promising tech trends of 2021 for the healthcare industry, which skyrocketed in the year 2020, namely Artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and virtual reality.
The major credit for the digital transformation of the healthcare industry goes to the pandemic COVID-19, which contributed towards the urgent need of implementing and bringing these emerging techs into daily use.
Throughout the outbreak, the trust of patients, hospitals, and healthcare programs shifted towards digital health technologies which eventually resulted in the depreciation of hospitalizations and the costs associated with them. Nevertheless, numerous healthcare organizations are struggling to target the best tools and degree of spending needed to address risks and reach enough patients to justify the efforts.
To solve their dilemma, we have listed down the advantages and importance of each technology for the sake of better understanding:
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Virtual Reality – A prime caretaker
Some may presume this tech to be purely for gamers but it has been expanding its reach to multiple industries. For the healthcare industry, it serves multiple purposes such as
- Used by memory care patients to visit favorite holiday destinations, see street views of their childhood residences, and enjoy soothing views of animals and nature.
- Used by patients to take a virtual tour of healthcare facilities, to help educate about the illness for example, by providing “fly-through tours” of a tumor to explain treatment.
- Assists surgeons visualize the potent obstacles before complex surgeries.
- Gives vivid imagery as a mode of diversion to prevent or lessen the pain of medication and while feeling discomfort or receiving treatments.
Adopting this trending tech can prove to be a major beneficial factor in making any healthcare organization a patient’s favorite medical spot. This cutting-edge trending technology for the healthcare industry is set to reach $11.14 Billion by 2025.
Artificial Intelligence – A bonus genius for security, process, and diagnosis
With evolving tech trends, Artificial intelligence is changing the picture of old and existing processes and the security of health centers. Recently, it has been seen that AI has become an integral part of the healthcare industry, which is serving its purpose by mitigating the perils of avertable medical situations.
Below are some important usages of AI:
- Major healthcare organizations have deployed this tech to keep a check on peculiar network activity, fraud risks, and malware infection predictions based on earlier established characteristics
- It automates reminders to assist patients in adhering to a strict prescription regimen.
- Buoy Health, one of the most common AI-based diagnose checkers, employs an algorithm that aids in the therapy of illnesses.
- Patients now take care of themselves in a better way through wearables devices for example smart shirts can record health data and predict outcomes.
- Identifying people that need medical attention through real-time insights and sending out warnings to medical workers to develop customized treatment plans.
Apart from the above usages, there are many more advanced uses and benefits of AI, which prove to be a lifesaver in the healthcare realm.
Through this year, 2021, the use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry is projected to rise at a 40% annual pace, reaching $6.6 billion.
Cloud Computing – Today’s need for large Healthcare data management
Since the pandemic all over the world picked up the pace and with the government’s new rules for medical consultations and treatments, the need for cloud computing to manage and process millions of records has become a vital necessity.
Below are some main advantages of considering cloud computing:
- To enable patients in gaining greater control of their health information through mobile apps, interworking between healthcare providers, payers, and creators of health-tech has risen.
- Healthcare organizations are exploiting the advantage of cloud platforms to make large data more secure and private through cloud service providers, which conform with a range of privacy regulations.
- Cloud computing works like an angel to manage and assess electronic medical records, mobile apps, big data analytics, and patient portals.
Considering these pros, many health organizations are moving towards implementing cloud platforms and collaborating with major technology companies like Google, Amazon, etc. to host their EHRs and data systems to offer real-time data analytics and more cloud storage.
Big Data – A Cherry top of the healthcare industry
Last but not the least, big data tech has many pros that even today many organizations don’t know about. Pointing out some major advantages for better clarity:
- By analyzing large data sets, big data provides information to reveal correlations, hidden patterns, and other observations. By doing so apt treatment and medication can be provided to different patients.
- Thankfully patients now can choose their medical care providers’ doctors based on different customers’ feedbacks and reviews which are accessible over the internet.
- Big data enables equipment diagnostics and analytics to obtain real-time data on the functioning of equipment, repair technical malfunctions, and avert larger repairs or system failures. This way, health care centers, and hospitals can run smoothly and provide trouble-free facilities.
- Big data assists in understanding the historical admission and discharge rates of patients, which aids in analyzing staff productivity and efficiency while dealing with varying volumes of patients at once.
End Thoughts
As the technologies are evolving so is the healthcare industry. Many hospitals and health centers are incorporating trending techs to help patients and themselves as well, with easier access to many dimensions of the medical field.
Great read! This article points out the pressing issue of today’s time on how we as a society can get medicines, vaccinations, treatments, and systems faster and automated with the help of health technology. Very informative read!