Technology is having a great impact on almost every sector of the economy including health. Most of these technologies are geared towards improving service delivery within the healthcare sector. It has made it easy for health practitioners to manage their patients.
On the other hand, the increased use of various technologies has helped patients to better manage their health. They are able to easily access information about their health conditions.
This is an indication that technology can be used to improve living standards by facilitating proper health for individuals.
Below are 6 emerging trends in medical technology:
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is one of the biggest technological transformations in the healthcare industry. In a world where access to healthcare is still limited, telemedicine is providing the much-needed support.
What is telemedicine? Telemedicine is the use of technology to distribute health services and products remotely.
Since its introduction, telemedicine has helped bridge the gap between large populations and limited health services and products. Minority communities in urban and rural areas still face a lot of problems in terms of accessing health services on time.
But with telemedicine, diagnosis and treatment can be done remotely. It is not mandatory for patients and doctors to meet physically. A doctor can diagnose and prescribe medicine while seated at his office in the hospital or at home.
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
Several gadgets and mobile applications have emerged to assist in tracking and managing chronic illnesses. By bringing together telemedicine and IoT development, a new brand of Internet of Things has been created.
The new approach involves the use of various wearable devices such as EKG and ECG monitors. The devices are used to get different measurements in your body such as temperature, blood pressure ratings, glucose level among others.
By 2017 nearly 60 percent of all healthcare providers were using this technology. The use of these technologies has led to improvements in many areas – from profitability to patient experience. It is estimated that by 2021 over 30 million IoMT devices will have been distributed globally.
Laser drilling
Laser drilling is another important emerging trend in medical technology. The medical industry is all about precision, reliability, and efficiency. This means that the devices being used must also meet these criteria.
The process of laser drilling is favorable to the medical industry compared to mechanical drilling. It is very adaptable to create only the desired holes without affecting the material being drilled.
There are two major processes used in laser drilling. The first one is known as percussion drilling and the second one is referred to as drilling on the fly. The good thing about laser drilling is that it offers consistency.
Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Electronic Health Records (EHR) gives patients and their health providers an opportunity to have permanent access to a patient’s information relating to his or her previous diagnosis, underlying medical condition, previous prescriptions among others.
One major advantage of EHR is that it makes the interaction between a doctor and a patient much easier. Besides, it also cuts down the amount of paperwork both for the doctor and the patient.
The software contains a summary of information for different patients that can also be shared with other healthcare providers.
Health tracking apps
Health tracking apps have also become common around the world. They are extremely beneficial both to the healthcare industry and individuals. Such apps are able to track a person’s heart rate, blood pressure, sleep period, distance covered among other things.
Chatbots
Hospitals and other healthcare institutions often deal with large numbers of inquiries from the public. But with an AI-backed messaging system, some questions can be automatically answered through chatbots. This means that healthcare providers can dedicate their time to issues that need one-on-one interaction.
