Healthcare Technology Featured Article

December 01, 2016

These Technologies Will Transform the Healthcare Industry


Thanks to the continual exponential growth of technology, healthcare has begun to see a major transformation. From nanorobots to remote care, these forthcoming technologies are set to completely change how the healthcare industry operates.

Online Training

Learning and access to education is literally at our fingertips, and with more and more companies offering online training courses, we are seeing an influx of furthered education. Whether it is photography through Lynda.com for a hobbyist or even medical transcription training online, we now have the opportunity to perfect skills and learn new ones. Universities like the University of Phoenix are also offering access to higher education for those interested in bettering their situation, those needing certification and even just those who are interested in learning more, period. With online training, the healthcare industry will begin to see a broader range in employee demographics, and even better prepared and trained candidates. Online training can also be used within a department to help employees train better and more efficiently when suits them best.

Quantum Computing

With the onslaught of big data, we are beginning to see larger sets of data in healthcare research along with analysis and making sense of genome sequences. Additionally, collection of data has also boomed with population health data, patient generated health data, and also the impact of behavioral, hereditary and environmental factors on health. With this inordinate amount of data, computing prowess, even with supercomputers, is not adequate enough to quickly generate actionable insights. Thanks to quantum computing, however, this problem is, well, no longer a problem. Quantum computing has a greater calculation capacity than your traditional computer, and it could easily help solve many complex healthcare problems, giving us quicker, better and more insightful results into research data.

Digital Care

Tablets, wearable devices and smartphones have recently become a portable doctor’s office with digital care. Patients can monitor vital signs, access medical information, take tests at home and even get a face-to-face consult with a physician. Companies like Push Doctor, Teladoc and LiveHealth, along with healthcare firms like Intermountain Health’s Connect Care are now using your everyday device for more convenient access to a physician. Sometimes when you’re too far away to get to a physician or if you just can’t make it out of the house to get to urgent care, technology and apps on smart devices can provide you with an easy and great backup to get the healthcare that you need.

Remote Monitoring

Similar to digital care, remote patient monitoring has made some major leaps and bounds in helping doctors diagnose and treat patients remotely. These monitoring programs collect data ranging from blood pressure, heart rate, weight, blood sugar, blood oxygen levels and even electrocardiograms. Tyto Care has developed a device that helps physicians to monitor several different health parameters, allowing doctors to better perform their jobs with more accurate metrics. The added bonus is that you don’t have to go in for an in-person visit. These kinds of devices and monitoring tools help healthcare firms to achieve the ultimate aim of improving patient outcomes, making healthcare systems more cost effective and also giving patients better access to care.

Nanorobots

Robots are already seen in the healthcare industry on a “larger” scale, such as a nurse’s assistant, or in the operating room for surgeries. On the nanoscale, though, robots play a much different role. By traveling through the bloodstream, nanorobots are being looked at to help with monitoring vitals, targeted drug delivery, or even just performing body functions like carrying oxygen or destroying bacteria. Ongoing research is exploring numerous uses and applications of nanomedicine, even including playing a role in molecular medicine. Though it may be some time before nanorobots are actually used, their applications and transformation of the healthcare industry alone will be astounding.




Edited by Alicia Young
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
By Special Guest
Rick Delgado, Freelance Writer ,




SHARE THIS ARTICLE



FREE eNewsletter

Click here to receive your targeted Healthcare Technology Community eNewsletter.
[Subscribe Now]