Innovative Tech Trends in the Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry itself is quite a marvel to behold on its own. Every day new breakthroughs, procedures and preventative measures are being trialled or unveiled to provide medical help and support for those who need it.

Technology, of course, plays a big part in all this, from simple aspects like monitoring systems to the sophisticated smart devices used in the careful analysis needed during research. With this, we’ve started to see trends in the healthcare industry as certain tech, systems and approaches are seen to be useful and more effective than older methods.

Here we take a look in closer detail at what’s involved with some of these trends:

Using Cloud Services

While it’s not completely true to say that the days of paper are no more in healthcare – as many systems still rely on notes and physical records – it is fair to state that digitalisation is becoming more and more common. Important data can now be stored online and accessed remotely, whether it’s patient information, lists of certain medicines or research, no longer are professionals in this industry limited to the pen and pad. Technological advancements within the healthcare have increased somewhat over the past 3-5 years. With the cyber-attacks the NHS saw occur in recent times, it has become more imperative for healthcare industries to improve systems, the way those systems are managed and the software behind systems. As well as the advantages of using cloud services, there are a number of different technological forms that businesses can rely on and operate with such as the following:

Wearable Tech

The necessity for physical interaction between doctors and patients for routine procedures has been reduced thanks to the trend of wearable tech. Today we have watches, tablets, and smartphones that can be used to record things like our heartrates, blood pressure, and temperature and then relay this information back. The added benefit here is that this can also support those whose illnesses or circumstances make it difficult for them to travel to such appointments.

Efficiency

You might think that all of this technology would be a big drain on energy, well big steps are being made to reduce consumption across hospitals and research facilities. Much like any other industry looking to cut back, the modern technologies that are currently being used can feature anything more efficient charging systems and power supplies, to automated power-saving modes and much more. These are often certainly more environmentally-friendly than older versions and all help to lower the healthcare industries spend and expenses on energy.

‘Telehealth’

In a similar vein to wearable tech, another trend has seen the increasingly tech-savvy demographics requiring medical help turning to digital systems for their appointments and for advice. This is according to this piece from Modern Medicine Network, which refers to a 2016 study explaining how:

‘Sixty percent (of young patients) support the use of telehealth (i.e. sharing health information via model health applications and engaging in video chats with their physicians)’.

In addition to this, the survey believes that even the older generations who aren’t as familiar with such technologies will accept these at their own rate and will eventually ‘start demanding telehealth services’ – presumably once they have seen and experienced the benefits for themselves.

Final Thoughts…

As humbling as it can be to know that such technologies are really making a difference to the world, what’s even better, of course, is that the advancements keep coming and improving our lives all the time. If anything, it’s an exciting thought to consider the realms of possibility for healthcare in the coming decades. This consideration can only place a wealth of positivity into the patients being cared for, the staff using the latest tech and ultimately the overall security the healthcare industry has.