Looking Back
In the past, patients had to visit health care facilities for medical care. The information received from the patients had to be manually processed, diagnosis would be based on unstructured information and tests would take days to process. With an aging population and an increase in acute and chronic illnesses, there was a grave need to make healthcare facilities more efficient and easily accessible, and to promote home healthcare.
Technology today in Healthcare
Information technology, over the past decade, has become a powerful force that has led the drive to a shift in the economy, culture and the industries. Now, that same technology is being utilized to bring about a transformation in the healthcare industry. Major league players like IBM are now putting their heads together to build healthcare software and systems that will provide more accurate diagnosis, treat illnesses and provide easily available facilities. Patients and doctors are now the new “end users”.
According to the MoneyTree Report, the investment in health care technology tripled to a whopping $995 million in 2012, from $343 million three years ago. This statistic is based on the data from Thomson Reuters. With the increasing investments in this field, here is what health care technology has to offer:
1. Software to Analyze Data
Complete information is imperative for an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, health care providers rely on getting vital information from patients for a better understanding of the medical condition. Most information they receive is unstructured: physicians’ notes, registration forms, reports, summaries. As a result, healthcare industries are drowning in information they find difficult to process.
To resolve this problem, healthcare software, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is looking to revolutionize data processing. It allows healthcare professionals to disseminate information, track data, identify patient logs and analyzes trends like never before. Furthermore, the EHR creates a database that makes information easily accessible, cross state, allowing patients’ information to move with them,
2. Major investment from government
In order to see that it is fully implemented, the government has introduced policies that encourage healthcare facilities to incorporate technology into their operational systems. A budget has also been allocated; the federal government intends to offer to spend up to $29 billion in incentives for hospitals to digitalize their record keeping system.
3. Technology that can be worn
Wearable technology has been providing doctors with the option to effectively monitor patients and at the same time provide doctors with real time access to electronic information.
This technology is not just for use of doctors. It has moved beyond the operating room. Now patients can also monitor their own health, sitting at home. OMsignal, a Montreal-based, Fitness and Health smart-wear company that creates biometric apparels that assists in measuring medical requirements like heart rate and calories burned to improve health. The clothing uses biosensors technology to track health data. Ultimately, this technology allows patients and doctors to stay connected and informed with accurate and easily tracked information.
4. Medical Robots
Technology is becoming accessible and efficient. With the increasing number of patients, there are lesser doctors to cater to them. To bridge this demand and supply gap, technicians took this to the next level. The RP-VITA Remote Presence Robot, produced by iRobot Corp. and InTouch Health, is the first remote presence robot, with a two-way camera, that can patrol the hospital hall providing basic medical attention to patients. This has been approved by the FDA.
5. Mobile Software Applications
The boom of mobile applications enables medical care services to patients 24/7. Here’s how:
- Helping doctors communicate with patients through home healthcare facilities:
Omnifluent Health, a translation application program designed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), assists doctors in communicating with patients regarding their medical complaints. Considering the fact that there are 47 million US citizens who cannot speak English, this technology is ground-breaking. All, the doctor has to do is speak into the mobile asking the patient a question, and the application will instantly translate it into the required language.
- Links doctors with other doctors:
There are cases when doctors from different states have patients with similar medical condition. How do they get in touch and discuss complexities? Doximity, a social network for healthcare professionals allows them a forum where these doctors can relate their success stories and cases for others to share. $27 million was invested to enable its launch.
- Assisting patients to stay healthy through home healthcare facilities:
With the growing number of mobile applications and gadgets, it is become relatively easy to monitor a patient’s medical condition and care for patients in their homes. This type of technology is assisting home health care providers and reducing the need for hospital readmissions. Axxess, a software provider for home health agencies recently launched a mobile app using Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). It assists health care providers in real-time scheduling, keeping track and documenting patient visits and verifying and complying with schedules. It improves doctor-patient relationship. Other companies have deigned technology to aid in patient care, as well. Fitbit is a device that tracks the sleeping patterns of patients. Lark is an application that not only tracks the sleeping patterns but also provides advice on how to sleep better for relaxation.
While technology cannot completely replace the one-on-one interaction between doctors and patients, it has immensely helped enable doctors and researchers to provide patients with more accurate information and home healthcare facilities.
