Ever since the early times, humans always have the inherent need to heal from illnesses. In ancient times when healthcare systems were not so advanced, even a curable disease of today would kill people. With time, viruses and infections also evolved, and as evident from the COVID19 pandemic, many new diseases transfer from animals to humans. Humans not only improved their diagnosis but also created medicines that cure and alleviates any underlying conditions. Recently, the advancement of technology has added a new dimension to the healthcare sector and patient care. Technology not only shares the burden of hospital administration, staff, and doctors but also improves the provision of quality services to the patients.
We must understand that apart from its altruism of making healthcare provision easier, technology is now business as well. Many companies that provide technology-based solutions to the hospitals make multi-million dollars of profit every year. Hence, they have directed an immense amount of research and development budget to invent new and exciting technological solutions to common medical problems. On the other hand, universities also work in coordination with the companies to develop further research. This article will bring present-day or forthcoming technologies in the limelight that have revolutionized the field of healthcare.
- SOFTWARE HELP
Today, many software help hospitals and organizations such as WHO, who put data about thousands of diseases on accessible databases. On the other hand, hospitals also take the aid of hospital management systems that save the patient data and make them available. Health informatics is now an essential occupation in which people specialize to handle a significant amount of data.
- MODIFIED DEVICES
We have always seen the engineers and computer geeks making robots and other devices, but now they have been directing their applications to healthcare. Who hasn’t done X-rays in their lives, and if you think about it, most of the devices in the radiology section of the hospital are engineering marvels. Disabled people also need help, and many of them cannot even move without assistance. Today, you can quickly check your blood sugar or BP levels while staying at home, and we do not even have to talk about health watches that track your health keenly. In the future, we can expect to get even better devices having numerous applications for people who need it.
- BETTER TREATMENT AND MEDICINE
In medicine, we can now easily make the drugs to fight off any illness in our body. Earlier, the experts believed that creating a new drug takes about six to ten years of research and trials. However, technology speeds the process that helps the research team from a simple microscope to the most advanced lab equipment. We can also thank technology for making it possible for researchers and physicians from around the world to collaborate and share necessary information.
- CLOUD COMPUTING
Accessing the information is one of the most critical factors in today’s healthcare, and nothing does it better than cloud computing. Patients can now access the necessary information from anywhere using merely their smartphones. On the other hand, the cloud also allows doctors, nurses, and hospital administration to collaborate on their work. Doing so makes the patient care real-time and drastically improves service delivery time.
- ROBOTIC SURGERY
From saving our time in manufacturing, robots now help us in healthcare too. Surgeries in which you fear about a scar, such as laparoscopic surgeries, can easily be performed by robots. Robots are precise as they work according to the provided instructions so that wherever a human hand might tremble, androids would thrive.
- 3D PRINTING
Who can forget 3D printing while talking about technologies incredibly helping humans? 3D printing has brought a revolution to the manufacturing process, and you can easily do it very quickly while just sitting at home or laboratory. Formerly, when you needed something customized, you would send an order to the factory, and it would take days or months to come back. Now you have it all on your computer, which has increased the pace of treatment and cures. Doctors leverage 3D printing in creating prosthetics or synthetic skin.
- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Humans are intelligent beings, but wouldn’t it be awesome if we could teach computers to be bright and make decisions for us? Well, that is not a far-fetched dream as AI technology today enables several such applications of machines. AI helps in early disease diagnosis as well as prognosis, that looks for the symptoms, and even advises the necessary cures. For instance, an AI algorithm for detecting skin cancer provided the correct result, 95% of the time, and that is 95% of a doctor’s precious time got saved.
- LASER TECHNOLOGIES
The laser isn’t something unheard and has been helping doctors for quite some time. Today they help people in improving their vision to get rid of the spectacles. On the other hand, they also help in curing cancer and have many applications in cosmetic surgeries. In all the capacities, lasers help in very intricate work that requires massive precision.
- SOCIAL MEDIA
The doctor-patient relationship has now grown into becoming more personal as social media helps everyone interconnect. Remember that visiting the hospital unnecessarily exposes you to a myriad of other infections. There are many online groups now where people can get help from the doctors while sitting at their homes. One can also use social media for public awareness about a viral disease as we are witnessing the case of COVID19 pandemic.
CONCLUSION
As long as humans keep contracting diseases, the healthcare sector will keep evolving. One of the most significant driving factors behind healthcare is the use of technology that solves many problems. Not only do we now see advanced equipment, but technology is also making the lives of healthcare professionals much more comfortable. Robots, 3D printing, and laser are some of the avenues that the researchers keep exploring to find new applications every day. We can expect that provision of healthcare can only get better if we continue on the same trajectory.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
