Four New Technologies That Are Improving the Healthcare Industry and How to Benefit from Them as Patients

The healthcare industry has been changing rapidly these past few years. There are more care providers and healthcare professionals due to the increased demand on the market. Healthcare services are also more accessible than ever thanks to schemes and regulations such as the Affordable Care Act. On top of that, we’re seeing a lot of new technologies being introduced and implemented across the healthcare industry.

Some of these new technologies are benefiting both service providers “ along with healthcare professionals “ and patients. The use of modern technologies is changing the healthcare landscape completely and patients are enjoying the most benefits.

Online Healthcare Portals and Resources

While sites like WebMD and similar resource centers have been around for years, the use of online healthcare portals and resources is advancing at a staggering rate. Patients can now find information based on the symptoms they’re feeling.

A few years ago, searching for symptoms like a severe headache or a lower-stomach pain may have led to scary conclusions. In fact, there are a lot of internet jokes surrounding the fact that most online self-diagnostic sites often lead people to believe they have cancer. Today, however, the available resources are far more accurate.

Patients can also consult a doctor or a specialist without leaving the comfort of their houses. Even hospitals and medical practices are opening their own consultation chat rooms and online platforms to enable patients to get the information they need.

Integrated Health Record

With the help of digital imaging and cloud computing, most of today’s health records are stored digitally and can be accessed from any remote terminal with the right credentials. This means patients can benefit from having a complete medical history available no matter where they receive health services. The same health records can be accessed from other countries too, which means you can still get the medical services you need when traveling overseas.

The biggest advancement in healthcare and record-keeping, however, is the implementation of eCOA or Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment. This allows patients, doctors and healthcare providers, family members and even close friends to participate in creating a comprehensive healthcare information system.

The electronic COA system relies on hardware that is widely available, such as smartphones and tablets. Using native apps connected to a central cloud server, patients can provide their own assessment based on the symptoms they feel. Doctors can use the same system to generate clinical-reported outcomes and thorough assessment reports. Family members helping with the treatment can also access the same system as observers and provide more information.

The result is more than just an integrated health record. It is a collaboration of all stakeholders in creating a truly comprehensive healthcare service and experience.

Better Disease Control

Another important technological advancement in the healthcare industry is Comprehensive Disease Control or CDC. This is a wide system used by larger organizations and government entities to track diseases in the general population. The same system and its careful implementation are the reasons why outbreaks can be anticipated before they can turn into serious problems.

There are plenty of systems designed to perform CDC tasks, but they all serve one important purpose: to protect us from potentially harmful viruses, new diseases and variations of existing health problems. While we may not be interacting with this system directly, the use of CDC is making the entire nation safer and healthier.

Improved Imaging Technologies

While older technologies such as x-rays are still used in today’s healthcare facilities, newer ones are being introduced to provide better, more thorough assessments. 4D MRI machines are becoming more and more common, allowing healthcare professionals to do thorough checks without having to do a biopsy.

Ultrasound is often used to perform imaging tests instead of an exploratory surgery. The same can be said for CT or PET scans. There are even machines designed to do a full-body scan and perform thorough medical checks automatically using the combination of these imaging technologies. Doctors and specialists can perform real-time analysis.

These improve imaging technologies, combined with digital imaging and
cloud-based data storage, are enabling better healthcare services in general. Doctors can perform better, more accurate diagnostics and provide patients with the right care and services. The faster response time also means more diseases and serious health problems can be prevented.

All of these technologies are benefiting patients and making healthcare much more reliable. To make it even better, there are still so many more advancements coming in the near future. It will be interesting to see newer technologies reshaping our healthcare industry further.