The healthcare sector is gradually achieving digital integration at every stage of a patient's journey, from seeking symptomatic information, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Automation has found its way into many healthcare operations. The last two decades have seen the successful launch of several eInitiatives that have revolutionized most aspects of life, and their effects are now being felt in the healthcare sphere as well. In fact, eHealth has immense potential to improve the quality and value of healthcare delivery and provide broad employment opportunities for engineering professionals around the world. These trends are also gaining momentum in India.
Innovations in information and communication technologies (ICT) are redefining medical processes in the country, from patient registration to data monitoring, from laboratory tests to self-care tools. It began to replace conventional monitoring and recording systems, giving people the option of undergoing a full consultation in the privacy of their homes. Thanks to technological advances in healthcare, services have been moved beyond the confines of hospital and laboratory walls and integrated with easy-to-use and affordable electronic devices, providing a crucial connection between healthcare providers and patients.
Broadly speaking, eHealth encompasses medical informatics, healthcare services and information that are provided or enhanced through the Internet of Things (IoT) and related technologies. Continuous technological developments in eHealth save lives and improve quality of life. These have reduced costs and medical errors, increased the efficiency of information flow and, most importantly, empowered healthcare consumers in their healthcare decisions.
Let's look at the latest technological innovations in eHealth and the benefits they bring to patients and professionals:
mHealth
Mobile health (mhealth) refers to healthcare and medical information supported by mobile technology. Although mobile technology has affected virtually every aspect of our lives, the entry of mobile devices into healthcare is a recent development. These smart technologies include smartphones, tablets, iPads and wearable devices. Its use is not restricted to healthcare providers, but extends to patients and companies associated with healthcare.
Mobile health has freed healthcare devices from wires and cables and allowed doctors and patients to check healthcare processes anywhere. They allow healthcare providers to have freer access to Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR).
Improved communication helps medical billers send text message alerts about payment schedules and outstanding bills. It also reduces snail mail, paper usage and time spent on phone calls.
Equipped with features such as computing capabilities, camera, interfaces, Internet browsing, email sending, text and instant messaging and Geographic Positioning System (GPS), smartphones have changed the face of healthcare.
Smart devices allow you to perform tasks in remote locations. Through them, a doctor can access a patient's EHR, review medical histories, send follow-up emails, and even fill prescriptions.
Significantly, healthcare apps are constantly being developed for both healthcare professionals and patient use. They provide professionals, administrators and patients with greater flexibility and savings. With these devices, users have the ability to access from anywhere, consult resources from anywhere, such as drug names, diagnoses and treatment options, consult data before or during treatment, such as surgery or any other type of medical intervention.
Digitization of health records
The EMR and EHR are electronic versions of the medical record. Although the EMR is restricted to facilities, the EHR is interconnected across facilities and can be accessed from outside using the Internet through wired or wireless technology. The EHR can help the doctor view medical records electronically, including medical histories, laboratory reports, and diagnostic imaging reports. This data becomes part of the digital medical record. With the help of this built-in database, the doctor makes evidence-based decisions rather than opinion-based decision, called Clinical Decision Support system (CDS). Afterward, the doctor can prescribe prescriptions by selecting medications from the drop-down list that prevents illegible handwriting.
The introduction of the EHR to replace paper records has been a game changer for allied healthcare professionals such as nurses and technicians. They are now able to enter patient data such as vital signs, weight, test results, etc. into a centralized and digitized system. Likewise, medical billers and coders use EHRs to schedule appointments, update patient records with diagnosis codes, and submit medical claims.
EHR technology has resulted in better patient care as it can automatically alert the treating physician to potential issues, such as allergies or intolerances to certain medications. The EHR makes valuable data available to clinical researchers, which advances medical knowledge and the development of new treatments for common health problems. Additionally, a central, standardized system across the healthcare sector can quickly identify a viral or bacterial infection. It can help detect the extent of an outbreak, allowing preventative measures to be implemented much more quickly.
Entering data into a computerized system saves time and reduces the risk of errors in patient data and financial details. It makes patient records digitally accessible in an instant, increasing efficiency and productivity. Switching from paper to electronic health records significantly reduces the cost of outpatient care.
Touch screens
Touchscreens have improved usability in hospital environments where doctors wear gloves or other protective equipment (emergency room, surgery) or where a small number of repetitive tasks need to be performed quickly. Tapping the function icon results in Innovative user interface. Multi-touch rotations allow for easy navigation and 3D diagnostic models (cardiac computed tomography) . Touching screens can be used by people even less computer literate for some medical functionalities such as EMR/EHR access, lab results, etc. They are also useful as patient kiosks and bedside and home care devices.
Digital Ink
Technologies like Microsoft Ink make it easy to write on a screen similar to a piece of paper. Integrated with EMR/HER, this technology can help annotate diagnostic images such as X-rays and MRIs to indicate important features. It inputs text naturally, especially when patients are unable to communicate, but through digital ink they can write a note to the doctor to explain their situation.
With this technology it is possible to draw images as in surgery for communication between the doctor and the patient. The doctor can quickly and easily authenticate reports by placing signatures like wet ink.
Voice recognition
Voice recognition eliminates the need for medical transcription, where the transcriber would convert the doctor's voice recording into readable text. Under this new technology, the doctor can dictate directly into a computer using a microphone that recognizes spoken words and translates them into text. Later, the doctor can review it on screen and sign it digitally. Thus, the report can be printed or placed in the medical record or electronically in the EMR/EHR.
Patient Portals
With portal technology, doctors and patients can access medical records and interact online. This allows patients to be more closely involved and better informed about their needs. In addition to increasing access and availability of medical information, portal technology can make patients active participants in their own care.
Self-service kiosks
Similar to portal technology, automated self-service kiosks can help streamline processes like paying fees, verifying identification, signing documents, and other registration requirements without needing to speak to anyone.
Nanomedicine
In nanomedicine, a small capsule containing nanodevices, such as a light source and a camera, is ingested into internal organs. It emits radio signals that are picked up by a receiver worn by the patient on a belt around the vest. Nanodevices are particularly useful in microsurgeries of eyes, blood vessels and tissue regeneration, where they release growth chemicals to catalyze tissue healing. They also control the release of hormones, enzymes, or therapeutic chemicals at selected sites. They can be designed to be placed under the skin to monitor blood glucose and release insulin, and also placed in blood vessels to monitor blood pressure and release medication accordingly.
Efforts are underway to help regenerate neurons (nerves) and brain cells using special nanodevices. They can also be used to repair DNA or replace the defective part of DNA using nanodevices that can carry the correct piece of DNA and be placed into the defective part. The use of nanodevices in genome analysis is also under investigation.
Sensors and wearable technology
Medical devices and wearable sensors also help with remote patient monitoring. For example, an alert is sent to a care provider when a patient falls; It may also include a bandage that can detect the skin's pH levels to communicate whether a cut is becoming infected.
Geographic Positioning System (GPS)
The use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in healthcare includes tracking the location of elderly people, especially those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and those who live alone; monitor your physical activities and health conditions.
Real-time location services
Real-time location services, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), are a rapidly developing technology that uses radio waves to collect and transfer data without human intervention. RFID tags attached to patients provide broader patient identification than traditional barcoding, tracking and locating essential equipment within the hospital. Real-time devices help hospitals focus on efficiency and instantly identify problem areas.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine, the exchange of medical information from one site to another via electronic communications, is a growing field with increasing possibilities. Telemedicine includes a growing variety of applications and services that utilize two-way video consultations, transmission of health data such as electrocardiograms (ECGs), smartphones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology.
Telemedicine clinics reduce out-of-office costs for employees and employers by eliminating the need to leave work to go to a primary care office. Because they can monitor vital signs and symptoms remotely, there are even plans to develop remote ultrasound technology.
Telehealth results in less crowded waiting rooms, relieving pressure on reception teams, shorter wait times for patients and greater efficiency, leading to savings
Cloud computing
Cloud computing, where an application running in a cloud can spin up more servers in response to increased demand for computing resources, is one of the most innovative products in healthcare technology today. In the cloud, healthcare professionals and patients can access any files and data and use applications from any Internet-enabled device.
This technology allows a huge amount of information to be stored at a low cost, without the limitations or expense of additional hardware or servers. Cloud storage helps protect against the loss of sensitive data with robust backup and recovery services.
The cloud is an invaluable tool for medical research, data analysis, and health information exchange. Its ability to easily share big data has helped in the development of life-saving medicines.
Social media
Social media has become an effective tool for healthcare organizations to communicate and share information with their customers through a wide variety of content formats such as text, photos and video. Social media is also used to enhance marketing, branding, different levels of engagement, and customer healthcare service delivery.
Mobile Learning (mLearning)
Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are enabling healthcare organizations to provide students with a whole new range of learning opportunities about health maintenance, balanced diet, weight loss, chronic disease management, etc.
Virtual Clinics/Doctors
Virtual clinics or online clinics are becoming very popular as they provide 24-hour online access for patients to healthcare professionals (doctors) who answer patients' questions in real time.
Pharmacogenomics/genome sequencing
Personalized medicine is all the rage today, as tailoring treatment plans to individuals and anticipating the onset of certain diseases offers promising benefits for healthcare efficiency and diagnostic accuracy. It can help reduce the billions of dollars in excess healthcare expenses due to adverse drug events, misdiagnoses, readmissions and other unnecessary costs.
Tools for big data analysis for pharmacogenomics are underdeveloped. In fact, data analytics and data aggregation for population health purposes could be the next big advancement on the horizon. In Summary Thus, healthcare today is undergoing transformation with eHealth technologies that enable remote monitoring of patients and their access to healthcare, collection of health data, patient identification, medication administration, medication compliance, exchange information and many other uses.
However, hospitals need to be cautious when integrating eHealth technologies to ensure that human-to-human communication is not completely eliminated. Additionally, while it can be extremely useful to have a central point for all data information, over-reliance on it introduces the risk of important information not being available in emergencies. If everything you need is online, there could be serious repercussions if there are connectivity or bandwidth issues.
The risk of protecting medical records is another concern. In the largest health-related data theft of 2015, hackers stole records from insurance giant Anthem's nearly 80 million customers and employees. These thefts occur because health credentials stolen from patients can be used to create false identities to purchase medical equipment or medications, or even to submit false insurance claims.
However, the impact of health technology is overall positive, with the benefits far outweighing any potential disadvantages.