2023 Update – Bionic Arm a Success!
Attaching bionic limbs is not anything new, but now, for the first time in history, a bionic hand has been attached to a woman from Sweden that integrates with the nervous system so that not only can she perform tasks that weren’t feasible before, but she also can feel sensations in her hand.
And now, with the advancements of AI, the hopes for even greater medical achievements will be coming in the near future!
The Emergence of Healthcare Technology
From food to education and from business to medicine, everything is being affected by the rapid growth in technology and it is accelerating at a rate never seen before. With all these advancements, nursing, and healthcare are at the top of the list.
All this technology has not only allowed doctors and nurses to perform their duties more effectively, but it has also made procedures more efficient and less painful for patients. Treatment is better, recovery is faster, and life-saving situations have increased significantly.
Let’s discover the medical technologies that are helping nurses and medical practitioners perform their jobs:
Communications:
Paper medical charts are now a thing of the past. A patient’s medical files must follow HIPAA confidentiality laws to avoid information from being compromised. Electronic Health Records (EHR) allow this medical information to be kept digitally and shared protectively with doctors and patients in a highly secure manner. Not only are patient files more protected, but information can be electronically transmitted to other medical professionals in an instant, as well as prescriptions are promptly transferred to pharmacists. All is done via the Internet in an encrypted and secure fashion.
Wearable Tech:
A recent innovation. Wearable tech is allowing people to keep track of their fitness and health and healthcare facilities can conduct their monitoring and treatment more accurately. These devices differ in their functions ranging from heart monitors, health monitors, fitness trackers, GPS trackers, and emergency response callers.
A digital healthcare solutions company in Australia is in the process of developing a smartphone app that can diagnose respiratory conditions with the phone’s microphone, acting as a stethoscope. The ResAppDx app applies artificial intelligence algorithms to the sounds, which identify potential respiratory conditions, including pneumonia, asthma, bronchiolitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Telehealth:
Telehealth/telemedicine refers to the delivery of clinical services by trained medical personnel to patients remotely. Residents of most rural areas who have been struggling with physically reaching medical facilities can benefit greatly from this technology. Many who have lost many lives due to lack of immediate medical attention can now have access to doctors, at least virtually, until physical health care services can arrive.
But it is not just remote areas that can benefit. Handled properly, many people in suburbia and cities can be helped via this technology and it is being used more and more. It may not seem much, but talking to a doctor virtually can help handle many medical situations, at least for the time being or until help arrives.
A recent survey by the Medical Society of the State of New York was conducted regarding telemedicine and the results are impressive.
There is much advocacy for telehealth as well. New York recently joined 28 states plus the District of Columbia in adopting a telemedicine/telehealth reimbursement parity law (the “Telehealth Law”). The new Telehealth Law became effective on January 1, 2016, and made several
significant changes to the New York Public Health Law and
the New York Insurance Law.
Doctor’s Networking:
What do doctors do when they are faced with a medical dilemma and might need a second, third, or even fourth opinion? They ask for advice from other experts. However, while they take their time to contact the other doctor, a patient might be fighting for his or her life. Fortunately, with advancements in technology, doctor’s networking has become strong and quick. Getting answers in minutes or even getting visual assistance by a video call has become a possibility.
Proper Medications:
Errors in medicine intake are not something new or unheard of. Whether it is a mistake on the part of the patient or a distracted medical employee, it happens, and it happens frequently. Thanks to technology such as automatic medication reminders, mistakes like these can now be avoided. These devices help the patients and healthcare staff to ensure timely intake of prescriptions and the right ones with a limited percentage of error.
Robotics and Miniaturization:
The accomplishments of this technology are impressive and its functionality is providing major transformations in the medical field, such as the Colon Pill. In addition to medical miniaturization, robotics is allowing patients to forego painful and sometimes wrongful diagnoses and procedures. Diagnosis acquired from this type of automation can be precise and very accurate.
See our infographic on The Impact of Technology on Health Care