Technology appears to have no bounds when combined with intellect and the hope-filled, optimistic energy that is the human spirit. While there are countless ways in which we may point to how, when, and in what ways humanities ingenuity and inventiveness has been interwoven with technology to bring advancements to human productivity, finances, business, and science, the efforts demonstrated in the fields that comprise human health and wellness always deserve recognition.
The now unstoppable force that is the combination of science, technology, and medicine has created impressive and much-needed inventions in the medical industry that are genuinely changing the way that medicine and patient care has been practiced for decades. Thought it would be a laborious task to try and make a detailed list of every invention or innovation that has contributed to the advancement of medical capabilities, spending time simply acknowledging a few of the more recent and broad-reaching ideas is not only more realistic, but valuable for both patient care providers and potential patients.
The following is a collection of ways in which technological advancements have improved the overall patient experience.
Ease and Accuracy of Scheduling Appointments
It would be a challenge to locate someone who, having gone to the doctor, did not have an eventual story to share about how long they had to wait before actually seeing the doctor. The notoriety of such an occurrence can only be equaled by the predictability of these situations. While most people have simply learned to accept such inconveniences as part of the medical process, the inevitability of those situations is not one that, arguably, is something that patients need to live with.
With special consideration to ER visits, making an appointment with a doctor’s office should be treated like any other appointment: it happens at the time set and within time parameters that are reasonable. Wherever the medical industry may have gotten off track so as to become so predictably unreliable with scheduling, anyone may venture a guess, the good news is that things (even here) are being changed for the better due to advancements in technology.
Phone calls work, yes— so long as someone answers the phone— and while this method is effective, so is the ability to open an app or website and choose from a list of openings that might align with the office and a person’s schedule. This technology may not be as impressive or advanced as growing and implanting an organ but may arguably one of the most convenient and necessary changes that has been brought to the medical industry.
Imagine how many more patients can be seen, how much time can be saved, and cordiality maintained because patients are less stressed from having to wait longer than needed.
Respecting Cultural Differences Through Translational Software
There is a good amount of research that has been conducted into patient care experiences. One of the top consistent negative results is that people tend to report not feeling heard or properly cared for by medical professionals. Obviously, there are a wide variety of factors that can go into such a finding, but one of the more common factors that contributes to such results has to do with people of various ethnicities struggling to be heard or understood primarily due to language barriers.
For many years, translators have been a necessity but not always an immediate or easy availability. The range of languages alone is one challenge, but finding even a semi-fluent translator that is also familiar with the host of complicated and loaded medical terminology is sometimes daunting. As a result, most translational exchanges fall to the responsibility of close friends or family members.
While this did serve to make language, information, and contextual complications more understandable, there are still plenty of situations where, emotionally, things can get complicated. It is hard for anyone to hear that they may have cancer, it may be even harder to have to admit that to a close relative.
Thankfully, advancements in translational technology have made it much easier to communicate in medical situations accurately and effectively. Now, not only can doctors and nurses feel more confident of the contexts offered which contribute to their diagnosis, patients and their families can feel more cared for because they know that they are being heard.
Telemedicine
Perhaps the most familiar of the previously listed technological advancements, telemedicine is, again, not the most impressive but is still able to make significant positive changes to the patient’s medical experience. The rapidly growing availability and saturation of mobile technology, the connectivity they maintain, and the interfaces they support have given rise to far more efficient and sometimes effective ways of communicating between parties.
Where patients used to have to make an appointment, drive to an office, wait for the doctor, then sit and describe symptoms in the hopes of garnering some form of diagnosis, telemedicine has cut part of that process out. Having less commute, less wait times, and greater succinctness at meetings means that not only are more patients being seen, but doctors have faster access to a variety of cases.
Where in the past, anything from a minor swollen bug bite that looks suspicious to mystery symptoms might warrant a drawn-out process of booking, going to, and receiving care that might not have been even necessary, now doctors can give quick advice thus freeing up personnel to more serious matters. Hospitals, offices, medical staff, and patients all benefit from the efficiency of telemedicine.
Wearable Tech
Many people may remember the bulky heart rate monitors that might have been used in gym class or be familiar with the first pacemakers. Regardless, the size, affordability, and effectiveness of wearable medical devices are another example of who advancements in medical technology have made significant improvements to patient care. Heart rates and blood pressure can now be instantly calculated from someone’s phone; asthma monitoring devices are advanced enough to detect a potential attack; blood glucose monitors have reduced the number of necessary blood samples.
There seems to be a wearable tech solution for many of the more common health concerns. What is even more convenient is the availability to download or share the data stored on these devices saving time and money, or even lives.
About the Author
Ryan Ayers is a researcher and consultant within multiple industries including information technology, blockchain and business development. Always up for a challenge, Ayers enjoys working with startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. When not at work, Ayers loves reading science fiction novels and watching the LA Clippers.
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