From the development of the microscope and a number of surgical tools, today's technological innovations continue to change our world and they show great promise to take things an exciting step further for the healthcare industry.
Here are some of the most riveting health technology advancements that may well shape the future of the medical industry:
Telemedicine
Telemedicine refers to the tech solutions that are used in place of physically visiting the doctor. The process can take the form of audio or video conferencing, as well as text or chat exchange.
This practice has been in use since 2016 and can involve remote diagnosis and treatment of patients. While physical visits are sometimes necessary, telemedicine proved to be highly beneficial, especially with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Healthcare trackers, wearables, and sensors
Health trackers, wearables, and sensors are examples of fascinating devices that encourage patients to better take care of their own health through technologies.
These tech-fuelled devices—such as those from the Sensoronics website—are designed to make patients the point-of-care. The use of patient monitoring accessories further empowers telemedicine where the results can be shared with physicians, allowing patients to make more informed health decisions.
3D printing and prosthetics
The practice of 3D printing provides a better outlook for the healthcare field as it enables the development of products, such as prosthetic limbs. Not a lot of people across the globe can afford prosthetics but 3D printing makes it possible for more countries to offer such products for much lower costs.
Blockchain technology in the healthcare field
Originally created by Bitcoin, blockchain technology allows the recording of information that makes it difficult or impossible for the system to be changed, hacked, or cheated. This benefits the medical field in a way that patient data can be securely shared. It also offers convenient—yet protected—access to patients and doctors wherever they are.
Big data
Big data is the collection of information on a massive scale—a practice that provides huge advantages to the healthcare field. This can be used in the comparison of thousands of healthcare studies in just a few seconds, ultimately speeding up the development of new drugs and vaccines.
In fact, a lot of medical facilities worldwide utilized big data during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed them to efficiently track exposure to the virus and even crack the virus genome.
Put simply, big data could be the future of diagnostics—another indicator of advanced, accessible, better healthcare in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic that we've been exposed to since the past year has revealed the gaps and inefficiencies of healthcare systems around the world. The good news is, we can rely on the advent of the present-day developments in the healthcare technology industry, which are taking things further and further, providing exciting possibilities for the future.
It is undeniable that medicine and healthcare are rapidly changing and the newest innovations in technology are receiving more attention than ever before. As such, we can confidently say that the healthcare of tomorrow has a higher chance to provide a cure for the diseases and conditions that take the lives of many today.
