Digital technology has contributed tremendously to the improvement of human lives, including advancements in medical technology. For instance, medical technology has helped physicians diagnose and treat their patients with ease and, at times, more successfully than they did without technology. With the continuous and developing nature of technology, the overall quality of our well-being has improved.
Healthcare professionals heavily depend on technologies for comfortable and better results in diagnosing, surgeries, and general patient care in the healthcare industry. Let’s take a brief look at the complex yet the wonderful relationship between technology and medicine.
Technology and medicine
The benefits and advantages that information technology is providing to physicians and patients are well-known now. While it is making a considerable amount of contributions to the world, the medical industry is hugely benefited by technology. The use of electronic medical records, telehealth services are prevalent in today’s medical industry.
Back in the old days, physicians and doctors spend time learning the technicalities of new equipment. Now, with advancements and innovations, today’s technology helps doctors and patients connect each other in seconds using telecommunications.
While technology can’t perform physical examination over telecommunications, it still is time-saving and cost-saving to get the necessary information or medical records over a video call than to travel to another geographic location to find out the required information.
Medical technology has consistently worked on saving a lot of time for medical professionals. They instantly access information while on the job, like patient records, research, studies, drug information, etc. Technological applications that help in CT scans or identifying health threats like X-rays have contributed to the medical industry for a long time now.
Medical equipment and technology
The sole reason for incorporating innovation into medicine is to improve the quality of human lives for the better. So many parts of medical equipment exist today as a result of technology and are working towards helping the patients.
Some of the medical inventions of equipment made possible by technology are:
- 3-D printing
- Artificial organs
- Health wearables
- Smart inhalers
Areas where digital technology has made an impact
Let’s take a look at some of the most common areas of this field where digital technology has taken over:
Electronic health records
If you think about it, it could be surprising how the medicine industry took care of its patient’s records in large files. Moving files or storing them over a long time, the chances of getting damaged or lost were high. Electronic health records (EHR) have come as a blessing for the records, and now not only is there no fear of losing or damaging them, but they can find any record instantly by just running a search.
Online education
Online education concerning medicine needs special mentions. Unlike other specialities, medicine needs more practical time than just studying. Yet, online education has made it possible for students to finish their degrees.
The online studying medium helps students to study, learn and grow at their own pace and take as much time to learn when they need it.
Healthcare applications
Cell phones are a crucial part of an individual’s life today as they are integral to our everyday functioning. With the help of various medical and health apps, our lives have changed drastically. Some others offer at-home medical care deliveries. For instance, there are Ambulnz services, a leading provider of mobile medical services and transportation in the US. Other healthcare apps help in accessing quick results or saving calendar dates for check-ups.
Takeaway
Digital technology hasn’t just made a significant impact but transformed the healthcare industry from its traditional origins. This transformation is expected to grow and multiply with time as many other technologies like AI, machine learning, and deep learning are yet to fully find their place in the industry. Of course, it will all happen in due time. Meanwhile, it could help to have open minds of healthcare organisations and professionals.
Ellen Diamond did her degree in psychology at the University of Herfordshire. She is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
