What we once thought was unthinkable or only a cinematic fantasy has now become a reality thanks to technological advancement.
The same goes for the healthcare industry.
With today’s internet and technology developments, there has been a lot of experience improvement for both patients and medical professionals, from increased operational efficiency to higher patient care standards.
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics, nanotechnology, and 3D printing are now transforming the medical field with breakthrough solutions.
Today, we'll look at how technological advancements have impacted the healthcare industry in particular and some of the technology healthcare trends you should apply to your healthcare business in 2022.
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What Impact Has Technology Had on Healthcare?
1/ Clinical decision-making assistance
Clinical decision support delivers knowledge and patient-specific information to health-care professionals.
This information is particularly important since it will be filtered and delivered to the healthcare provider at the proper moment in order to help them make better decisions.
There are quite a few technologies designed to improve this clinical decision-making workflow, such as: notifications, alerts, and reminders, clinical guidelines, condition-specific order sets, patient-specific clinical summaries, documentation templates, and investigative and diagnostic support.
2/ Easily accessible information.
Being able to have faster and easier access to patient’s information is definitely one of the most significant advantages of technology in the healthcare business.
Large paper files were once transferred from one department to another. Patient medical profiles were frequently stolen or damaged during transportation.
For everyone in the medical field, the replacement of outmoded paper records with electronic health records (EHRs) has been a game-changer.
Furthermore, with the help of a good internet connection, information can be communicated to a third party in a split second.
3/ Improved patient care.
Medical professionals now become well-rested as they have more time on their hands, which helps them lessen the likelihood of mistakes and misdiagnosis.
Patients can also use technology to receive more exact doses and provide information to their healthcare professional on a frequent basis.
Furthermore, pacemakers, health trackers, and other devices make it simple for individuals to keep track of their own health.
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If any issues arise, the data collected by these devices may be quickly relayed to doctors who can determine what is wrong with a patient even when they are not there.
As a result, patients can all receive better care with complete transparency, cheaper healthcare costs, and instant access to medical treatment no matter where they are.
4/ Improved communication
Ineffective communication between departments, teams, and locations affects healthcare organizations, just like it does all other businesses.
However, digital technology has made it much easier for healthcare practitioners and patients to communicate.
Email, cellphones, text messaging, and other means of communication are available to healthcare personnel.
Patients no longer receive letters from their doctors reminding them of their appointments and testing.
Communication between medical and non-medical staff members, especially between those who work in separate places, has also benefited greatly from teleconference technology.
The top healthcare tech trends in 2022 you should keep an eye on
1/ Telemedicine and telehealth
Telemedicine and telehealth have always been on the periphery of healthcare, but the epidemic has made them the standard means of patient-provider communication.
Patients may now communicate with their physicians from any location around the world.
Not just that, patients may use these platforms to track their medications, contact individual providers, and require a certain medication, then have it delivered to their doors.
The quantity of data generated by telehealth is huge. Sensors and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices account for a large portion of this.
Hence, in order to make telehealth even bigger, businesses need to invest in edge computing, which allows for real-time processing and analysis of the large amounts of decentralized data.
2/ Extended reality in medical training and treatment
Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) are all included by the term extended reality (XR).
All of these technologies use glasses or headsets to modify our view of the world, either by immersing us in completely virtual settings (VR) or by overlaying virtual features over real-time photographs of the surroundings.
Doctors and surgeons utilize virtual reality headsets to learn about the inner workings of the human body without putting patients at danger.
In addition, virtual reality is also employed in therapy. This has been used in treatment to teach social and coping skills to children with autism.
According to a research by Globe Newswire,the market for virtual reality in healthcare would expand approximately 35 percent yearly between 2021 and 2026, reaching more than $40 billion by the end of the period.
3/ Nanomedicine
While nanotechnology may still sound futuristic, it is progressively making its way into our everyday lives.
If you're unfamiliar with the term "nanomedicine," it refers to the use of nanoscale (microscopically small) materials and objects, such as nanoelectronic devices, or even nanorobots for specific medical purposes
By the end of 2021, scientists had constructed small organic robots (known as xenobots) that could self-replicate.
As a result, it's reasonable to expect groundbreaking nanomedicine news in 2022.
Nanomedicine business therefore contains such a huge potentiality and promise for investors this year.
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4/ Digital Therapeutics
Digital Therapeutics (DTx) is a term used to describe an evidence-based behavioral treatment that is provided to patients through software.
It is supposed to increase the accessibility and efficacy of healthcare.
To enhance patient care, the digital therapeutic applications track medicine, food, blood sugar, blood pressure, and activity.
These programs are expected to provide treatment guidance for a few common illnesses, employ simulation techniques to encourage behavioral changes, and interact with embedded medical trackers to transform care with minimal professional assistance.
By 2025, Insider Intelligence estimates that the worldwide DTx business will be worth $56 billion.
Conclusion
What are currently groundbreaking ideas in the healthcare business will become ordinary in the next few years as the industry gets more comfortable with technology.
At Golden Owl, we assist healthcare companies prepare for the future of care by giving them the tools and guidance they need to effectively integrate edge infrastructure, AI/ML, robots, and other innovations without compromising security.
Make the most of your technology expenditures by improving your organization's patient, provider, and community outcomes. Contact us right away!
