Healthcare Technology Trends and Digital Innovations

Although the situation has gotten better, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. It continues to change pretty much all industries, including healthcare. So there has been a pressing need to support medical institutions to handle the growing number of patients.

Luckily, the hospitals have been pretty successful in keeping their exceptional service quality with the help of the latest healthcare technology solutions. Whether sharing medical information via wiki software or using artificial intelligence (AI), these and many other innovations help medical workers stay productive while keeping their patients’ data safe. And as we’ve come to this year, the emerging tech trends continue to transform organizations. Here’s a quick look at what to expect.

1. Telemedicine for Online Meet the Doctor Online

Since the pandemic, telemedicine has provided a way for patients to meet with doctors without being in the same room. So, amid social distancing, people can stay safe while still receiving professional advice for their concerns. However, since sharing private health information needs to comply with strict regulations, caregivers need to choose wisely the applications they use for communications. Healthcare technology companies are aware of that and have come up with several applications that keep the videoconferences secure and, frankly, legal. One such app is the open-source WebRTC. It connects smartphone apps with web browsers and enables video transmissions that meet all the necessary privacy requirements. This convenient solution is very likely to find use even after the pandemic is over as it eliminates the need to visit the hospital for every small appointment.

2. Healthcare Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Staying ahead of the pandemic curve is essential if we want to beat it. And new healthcare technology in this year that uses artificial intelligence (AI) helps us do that. It analyzes vast amounts of data and makes accurate predictions about the spread of the virus so we can always stay a step ahead. For example, the application called BlueDot scans thousands of media sources every day to point out areas where the outbreaks are very likely to happen.

AI and machine learning have even contributed to vaccine development. The whole process of coming up with the right combination of anti-virus protein fragments was faster than ever before. Again, that’s primarily because machine learning helps identify the needed elements for an antidote by analyzing and comparing huge information pools. 

You may remember from healthcare technology news when they first put up the monitors in airports to measure people’s temperature. Guess what? These monitors analyze the crowd temperature information via AI solutions. The technology has been pretty successful in pointing out symptomatic individuals and helping curb the spread of the virus.

3. Healthcare Wearables – Smart Watches Save Lives

Wearable technology keeps getting better every year, and the innovations in this field have a massive impact on the healthcare industry. These devices provide valuable help for people to update their doctors with new information about their vitals. For example, smartwatches can read and report a person’s heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and many other things that can alert healthcare providers of a possible life-threatening situation. Plus, with healthcare technology management, the diagnoses and the accuracy of health advice are bound to improve.

Specialized miniaturized sensors in medical smartwatches can even detect different blood composition and volume variations. So, patients can provide an unprecedented amount of blood vitals to doctors without stepping to the hospital or providing a blood sample. That will not only help to limit human contacts during the pandemic, but it also makes the process of getting your blood analyzed much more pleasant.

4. Blockchain Might Soon Decentralize Health Information

Although the healthcare industry won’t adapt blockchain to distribute its health data this year, it’s been a topic of ongoing discussion. That’s because, in the digitized world, patients are increasingly worried about the usage and storage of their health details. Data breaches seem to be an almost daily occurrence, and people are not happy to trust an institution with their personal information. They’re seeking to get more control over it. And blockchain could provide that.

In Summary

So, this was our quick overview of healthcare and technology trends that continue to shape this year. One thing’s for sure: digital innovations like telemedicine, AI, and wearables have been immensely helpful in tracking our health and improving it during a crisis. They’ve made our lives more convenient and increased the accuracy of diagnoses, predictions about the spread of the virus, etc. These powerful benefits are not likely to go anywhere once the pandemic is over. Instead, the new technologies will keep changing the healthcare industry and evolving into new solutions that will keep us healthier than ever before. What could be better?

Did we miss any of your favorite healthcare technology trends? Let us know in the comments.