Healthcare is without a doubt one of the most vital components of any society. A healthy society, as they say, is a prosperous society. Therefore, societies would struggle to survive without an effective healthcare system.
Healthcare, by definition, is a vast field concerned with providing medical care to persons to preserve and restore their total health and well-being. Despite the economic slump, healthcare remains one of the fastest-growing sectors today.
The expanding number of hospitals, medical device makers, clinical trials, outsourcing firms, medical tourists, health insurance companies, and medical equipment manufacturers is fueling this sector’s expansion all around the world.
With the passing years, the integration of technology in healthcare has resulted in improved patient diagnosis and treatment. Perhaps, Healthcare is undoubtedly the most important of all the areas that have benefited from technological adoption.
Healthcare technology
The use of technology in healthcare has resulted in better patient diagnosis and treatment over time. Healthcare is, without a doubt, the most essential of all the industries that have prospered from technology advancements.
Advancements in technology
In the healthcare industry, the revolutionary effect of technology is undeniable. However, many breakthrough technological advancements in healthcare have occurred in recent years:
- 3D printing
- Artificial organs
- Robotic surgeries
- Medical instruments
- Virtual reality
- Telehealth
3D printing
It has been used in a variety of fields for several years. When it comes to medicine, it develops implants and even surgical joints.
It’s also used in prosthetics since it allows for the creation of perfectly matched limbs, allowing for increased comfort and mobility.
The average surgical tech salary in the USA is $54,686 per year or $28.04 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $40,688 per year while most experienced workers make up to $85,727 per year.
Artificial organs
Similar to 3D printing, but for actual and functioning organs, the immune system of the patient will not reject them.
Bio-printing, often known as 3D printing, is an emerging technology in healthcare that has the potential to save millions of lives each year.
Robotic surgery
Enhances a surgeon’s control, precision, and flexibility to operate on a patient as minimally as feasible. Certain operations have become easier or even conceivable as a result of it.
Medical instruments
The use of surgical medical instruments has expanded in healthcare applications. For instance, wearable health devices can detect cardiovascular irregularities earlier and avert serious problems.
Virtual reality
It has become increasingly popular in recent years, primarily for entertainment purposes.
Virtual reality, on the other hand, can help medical students gain “real-world” experience with procedures and gain a visual grasp of human anatomy.
Telehealth
This is a rapidly growing business in which people can receive medical care via digital technologies. Patients can quickly contact their doctor and receive a diagnosis as well as medical assistance.
Use of information technology in patient care
Patient safety is a subset of healthcare. It is the prevention, mitigation, and avoidance of negative outcomes or injuries resulting from healthcare processes.
From easy recording to more advanced decision aid and interaction with medical technology, health information technology encompasses a wide range of technologies.
Let’s discuss some areas where technology has been a helping hand.
Electronic doctor prescriptions
The use of electronic or computer help to submit prescriptions, including pharmaceutical orders. Utilizing a computer or mobile device platform defines a computerized physician order entry.
Originally the design concept was to improve the safety of drug orders. However, computerized physician order input systems now allow for the electronic ordering of tests, treatments, and consultations as well.
Medication administration with a barcode
Combining the electronic medication administration records with barcode technology in an electronic system are known as bar code medication administration systems.
These systems aim to prevent medication errors by ensuring to provide the correct medication to the correct patient at the correct time. Furthermore, existing barcode systems are of varying degrees of sophistication.
Smart pumps
Circulatory infusion pumps with drug error-prevention software are known as smart pumps. When the infusion is set outside the pre-configured safety limitations, this software informs the operator.
To draw a judgment about the usefulness of smart pumps in decreasing medication errors and improving patient safety, further research is essential.
Medication dispensing technology
ADCs (automated dispensing cabinets) are electronic drug cabinets that store medication at the point of treatment and allow for regulated dispensing and distribution tracking.
They have been successful in employing pharmaceutical inventory management technology to help automate the medication dispensing process.
It helps by reducing the central pharmacy burden and keeping a proper record of medication distribution and patient billing.
Technology to prevent surgical materials from retaining
Barcoding and radiofrequency (RFID) tagging of surgical items are two technologies that are used to improve the prevention of retained surgical items.
Three studies were found in a review for examining technology for preventing surgical items from being retained. However, there is currently inadequate clinical evidence to support or refute the usage of such technologies.
Electronic patient portals
A patient portal is a secure online program that allows patients to access their personal health information. It communicates with its healthcare providers in a two-way electronic format via a computer or mobile device.
Reporting of incidents via electronic means
Electronic incident reporting systems (EIRS) are web-based platforms that allow healthcare practitioners involved in safety accidents to report them voluntarily.
However, these systems generally link to an electronic health record (EHR) to allow for data abstraction and automatic identification of bad outcomes using trigger tools.
Telemedicine
It is the application of telecommunication technologies to improve communication between patients and health care providers. Communication could be simultaneous, such as with real-time 2-way video communication.
Telemedicine is also useful in providing health information remotely from medical devices or personal mobile devices. In addition to communication. storage of information can be useful to keep track of or modify the behavior of patients.
Conclusion
To conclude, health is a vital component of every society. Perhaps, healthcare facilities provided should have advanced and updated features.
Perhaps, when technology has become a central part of every industry, then why should the health sector not take benefit from its implementation?
On the other hand, along with integrating technology in hospitals to provide patient support, it is also beneficial in health-related sectors.
Such as, medical instrument manufacturing company use technology to make instruments that integrate and yet are supportive in providing assistance to patients.
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