The Importance of Access to New Technology in the Healthcare Industry
Technology in the healthcare industry has helped reshape the way almost every aspect of this industry is handled. Technology plays a central role in ensuring medical-based businesses operate efficiently and provide superior services to patients from patient care and hospital management. The importance of technology in the healthcare industry is something that can’t be overlooked or overstated. Keep reading to learn more about technological transformations in the industry, such as big data and enhanced caller information that have helped to improve the entire healthcare industry.
The Impact of Big Data in the Healthcare Industry
Big data is a term that refers to the large and complex data sets that must be processed and analyzed to identify valuable information that will help with forming new policies and streamlining essential processes. There are several ways that big data impacts the healthcare industry.
For example, it can help improve hospital staffing. It is possible to analyze the existing hospital admission rate with big data and help the administration find possible future admission rates. Based on the information, it will also help highlight the facility that may face the most admission, which will help the hospital prepare and allocate plenty of staff and resources to ensure proper patient management. This helps to reduce things like ER wait times, improves the quality of care, and saves money.
Big data will also help reduce medication-related errors. By looking at patient records, big data will find inconsistencies and flag any potential gaps or errors that exist between a patient’s health and prescriptions. It can also alert doctors if there is a possibility of a medication error. Big data will also foster preventative care when used to its full potential. Sometimes, people coming to the hospital are called “frequent flyers,” and big data can identify these individuals and help the staff create plans to keep them from coming in all the time.
Increased Use of Wearable Medical Devices
By 2023, it’s estimated that the wearable medical device market will exceed $27 million. In the past, having a physical one time per year was enough. Beyond this, patients only went to the doctor if something was wrong. However, in the age of technology and information, patients are more focused on prevention than damage control. Because of this, they demand more updated information about their current state of health.
Demand is something that breeds innovation. Today, healthcare businesses are more proactive than in the past, which is why they are investing in wearable technology that provides real-time information on a person’s health and provides a warning if a major health event is likely. The most common wearable devices include heart rate sensors, calorie trackers, exercise trackers, sweat meters, and oximeters.
Care Offered Through Virtual Reality
Imagine if you told someone 10 years ago, they could eliminate their chronic pain using a device similar to a video game? However, research has shown that pain is always felt in the brain rather than the body part or extremity where the cause is located. Distraction with virtual reality or some other engaging task that requires the person to participate reduces pain perception in the brain. While this type of technology was unthinkable a decade ago, this is not the case today. VR can help and provide these benefits. Because of this, it is a new technology that many doctors are using to transform how they treat their patients.
Technology in the Healthcare Industry
As you can see from the information above, there are more than a few ways that technology is impacting the healthcare industry. Knowing what is available and what to expect is essential to reaping modern technology’s benefits. It’s also worth mentioning that technology continues to evolve and that it will continue to transform the healthcare industry in the coming years. Because of this, it is essential that those in this industry remain aware and in the know about the latest innovations.