The Impact of Technology on Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost every industry, occupation, and facet of life. Healthcare practitioners and patients are no different. With quarantine and sheltering-at-home mandates, there was the threat of a gap between the care that patients needed and the care that practitioners could give. Technology has helped to bridge that gap. Here are some of the ways that technology has impacted healthcare recently.

Telemedicine and virtual doctor visits

A popular approach that many clinics, GPs, and specialists have taken is that of the online or over the phone ‘visit’. Chatting to a patient about their symptoms, progress, or worries is a solution to minimizing face-to-face contact.

Improved access to information

No, we don’t mean Googling symptoms! The leaps and bounds in the digital world have allowed healthcare professionals to access patient data as well as share it with other healthcare professionals if need be, which means more efficient and effective patient care.

Virtual prescriptions

Prescriptions have become easier than ever to obtain and then turn into repeat prescriptions if necessary. Patients usually only need to fill in information online and occasionally speak to a healthcare professional, and then the rest of the process is automated online.

Big data

Clinicians and researchers can gather big data in record time with technology. What’s more is this data can be from a far larger, more diverse, and more meaningful collection of participants than ever before. This means that results can push techniques, trends, and research further.

Patient records

Electronic records take up far less space than paper files, are easy to access and difficult to lose. This saves on time and makes it easier for both parties, as well as sending files to another relevant healthcare professional (for example from a dentist to a pediatrician).

The future

These are just some of the ways that communication, efficiency, and data storage in the healthcare industry have all improved because of technology, and there are no signs of stopping. This is a step in the right direction because it means that people are going to continue to see the quality and availability of their healthcare climb, hand in hand with technology.