There are various ways in which healthcare has been affected positively by technology. There are new cures for patients, and artificial intelligence as well as robotics. Let us look into some of them.
- Robotic operations. In the coming years, it is foreseen that surgeons will be able to conduct surgeries remotely. It might be a little scary if you think about it but with the continuous increase in population and the decrease in healthcare providers, this could be the best solution. Robotic surgery may involve partial or complete dependence on machines to perform surgical procedures.
- Virtual visits. Virtual doctors through portable video devices such as your smartphone are now in place. It allows older people with no one to live with to have their health checked and speak to a Dr Online. It reduces the risk of hospital confinements while increasing the number of doctor visits.
- Virtual Reality for therapies. VR is now used to help in therapy especially for patients who are struggling to walk. As a patient, you might not want to walk inside a hospital but rather you would prefer to practice walking on a beach. This is how VR works, you pick the area where you want to practice walking, then you wear the VR and you are there.
- VR for phobia treatments. VR is now being used to treat phobias. With the help of VR, the patient becomes aware of the thoughts that are causing negative reactions towards a certain thing. Once the thoughts are determined, the patient will be able to replace that thought with something more desirable thus helping them cope up with their phobia.
- Bluetooth tags. Bluetooth tags allow healthcare providers to track patients and treatments in a way that seemed impossible before. Patients can inform their family once they are out of the operating room with the help of this device. As for the doctors, they can immediately access your laboratory information with the use of their mobile devices.
- Implantable glucose monitoring system. This enables patients and healthcare providers to have immediate access to glucose readings with the use of apps that are installed on their mobile phones.
- Artificial intelligence to cross-referencea patient’s file. This might be against doctor-patient confidentiality but this might be one of the best ways to treat uncommon diseases. Cross-referencing profiles will allow doctors to compare a patient’s profile and target the root cause of rare diseases, making it easier for them to find a cure.
There are risks in injecting technology into healthcare but with continuous research and enhancement, we will surely benefit from it. Each one of us, doctors and patients, should be aware of the risk and should play a part in ensuring that these data are only used for the benefit of the masses. We need to be extra vigilant and protective when disclosing and sharing information. We should also be able to find a way to secure it online since there are a lot of people who might take advantage of such information.
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