Healthcare innovation relies on expanding base knowledge as it improves technology designed to provide specific solutions in the healthcare field.
Add to the many challenges facing healthcare and coming out of a once-in-a-century pandemic that disrupted every country and society. Innovative solutions forged out of necessity have become commonplace.
Massive public and private investment in healthcare technology will improve health equity worldwide. Think of health equity as defined by the World Health Organization. They define health equity as “the absence of unfair and avoidable or remedial differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically or geographically.”
Healthcare can be more accessible and affordable through these tech improvements.
Telehealth
The front runner in making healthcare more equitable is the inclusion of telehealth as a standard form of healthcare visit. Before 2019, telehealth usage was thought to be around 840,000 patients, but due to the social distancing and stay-at-home orders in 2020, that number has grown to over 52 million.
While the impetus of the dramatic change to telehealth may have been born out of the necessity brought about by the pandemic, telehealth’s advantages have become commonplace industry-wide. The advantage of telehealth is that it empowers the patient, especially those in need.
Telehealth benefits people that lacked health insurance prior had transportation issues or even the cost of taking time off from work and losing the most labor. It also helped overworked office staff and stressed doctors to see more patients easier and quicker.
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Moving from inventing the first wheel ever to discovering the use of Artificial intelligence, we have come a long way. The world is changing for the better, and technological advancement has impacted numerous industries. And the healthcare industry is no exception.
The pandemic has highlighted several gaps in the accessibility of services to patients. Healthcare facilities have had to question old operating methods and adapt to better solutions for providing patients with better care. Moving into 2022, we can observe certain advancements in this sector. These are predictive of what improvements are likely to occur in the future. Listed below are some health-tech trends that are likely to impact the quality of care patients receive profoundly.
Better predictive analytics
The role of data is becoming prominent in improving healthcare services. Data helps identify trends in population health, thereby also helping to identify people at higher risk of developing specific medical issues. Such analysis includes gathering data from hospitals, specialists, primary care providers, and pharmacies. The information will help close gaps in providing patients with proper treatment on time. It will also help healthcare facilities manage a shortfall of resources during emergencies such as a pandemic.
Predictive analytics are likely to become more accurate and efficient in the future with more innovative data collection tools. It will help improve healthcare systems engineering, leading to better management and delivery of high-quality patient care.
Telehealth will become more common
In the past, access to healthcare depended on whether a patient could make it to a hospital or not. However, as communication and collaboration between different geographical locations increases, healthcare services will also expand. Telehealth is not a new idea, but it will gain popularity in the coming years. Doctors and nurse practitioners will be able to counsel patients over apps such as Zoom and other dedicated health portals.
Moreover, at-home testing kits will become more accessible, enabling patients to maintain privacy. According to the American Hospital Association, most healthcare services will be delivered at home or virtually by 2040. It will make healthcare much more accessible to people, especially those who live in remote areas.
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