All About Health Care Technology

Are we the only ones or do you also don’t like the concept of remaking classics? Let’s face it, no one can match the aura of the original. Take for instance the Star Trek series. However primitive the VFX was, there was a charm that can never be replicated. #SayNoRemakes

Apologies for the minor digression but we’re not totally off topic. Do you remember a screen placed above each bed in sickbay displaying various vital signs? Dr. McCoy will not let anyone leave the sick bay until those needles fall within acceptable parameters.

That sickbay vital signal monitor is one of the technologies in healthcare. See, we told you we were not totally off subject! Healthcare Technology is a culmination of innumerable such tools, equipment and software. It has become one of the most vital innovations in our society. All said and done, while we’ve scratched the surface, do you know what it really is? Do you know the types of Health Care Software? No? Hop on our starship as we discover a galaxy far far away...not really!

We’re just planning to take you through all there is to know about Health Care Technology. Let’s go!
 

What Is Health Care Technology?

If we were to put it in simple words – everything from a telemedicine application to a digital ECG monitor is Health Care Technology. It is defined as tools or software built to increase hospital administrative productivity to improve the quality of patient care. In simpler words, it refers to using technologies created to enhance all aspects of the health care system.

Do you remember Dr. Dre’s music video, “I need a doctor” featuring Eminem and Skylar Gray? What do you remember about the number of machines used on him after his accident? They helped him get better, didn’t they? Before you ask us, the accident scene wasn’t real! Those medical tools seen in the video are part of what brought us here today.  Clearly, as you can now understand, the world of Health Care Technology is too vast – everything from health tracking apps, telemedicine software, E-prescribing software falls under it.

However, this technology was not the same at the very beginning. It evolved over the years. Here’s a glimpse of how it all began.
 

The Journey Of Health Care Technology

Now that you’ve learned about what Health Care Technology is, let us take you down memory lane to show you how and when these advancements came up.
 

• The Invention Of The Stethoscope In 1816

  If there is an engineer who could be called a perfect gentleman, then René Laennec is the person. Out of respect for not wanting to touch a woman’s bare chest when diagnosing a patient’s heart, he invented a stethoscope, which was nothing more than a wooden tube. Yet, it allowed Laennec to hear the heart sounds of the patient as well as maintain his dignity. This was the beginning of Health Care Technology.

 

• The Invention Of The X-ray In 1895

  William Röntgen, a German physicist one day observed that a nearby fluorescent screen was being illuminated by invisible rays passing through different materials. William didn’t really know the essence until he experimented with the rays on his wife (Frau Röntgen). She exclaimed, “I have seen my death!” when the experiment showed her left hand and her wedding band.

• The Invention Of The World Wide Web In 1980

  Since Tim Berners-Lee created the first “website” in Switzerland. By then, technology had advanced and various information could be accessed on the web. If not for the web, popular health sites such as WebMD would not be known. Many companies also use web technologies in the same way: providing useful information to doctors and their patients and connecting them to enjoy better lives.

• The Invention Of The Human Genome Project In 1990

  Researchers began the Human Genome Project to identify all the genes in human DNA and know the sequences of the chemical base pairs that make up human DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). This innovation brought about the development of some medical applications, including finding genes connected with genetic conditions like cancer.

We can continue mentioning how technology has evolved and helped in health care. The list is endless! As things are getting better, Healthcare Technology too improved with time. Let’s learn how well it works today.
 

How Health Care Technology Works

Let's go back to Dr. Dre's “I Need A Doctor” music video. During his recovery, there was a machine he was placed on for him to walk like a Peloton bike. That machine would store his information, share it with the software components, then analyze all the information.

Health Care Technology works the same way. First, it stores your patient's health information; secondly, it shares the information with the software components and finally analyses the results. From the analysis, a medical professional will get all the information needed to make your life better and see how you are performing health-wise, especially during recovery from an illness.

You’ve taken another great step in understanding how Health Care Technology works. Is that enough? No, it’s not. How about knowing some types? Sounds amazing, right?
 

What Are The Different Types Of Health Care Software You Need?

 

• Electronic Health Records (EHR)

  EHR works for patient data collection as it allows storage of patients’ data, medical history (such as procedures and prescriptions) and their doctors’ recommendations. There are two popular types of Electronic Health Records software.
  
  First, the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) and secondly, the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). EPR is used internally by hospitals to keep patients’ data while EMR is used to keep a record of a patient’s recovery and measures taken by a specific hospital unit. At present, most hospitals are moving their records to the cloud for convenience. #CloudForTheWin

   

• Patient Portals Software

  Patient Portals Software makes it easy for patients to access their information stored in the Electronic Health Record. It gives patients access to their medical records and helps them see the available services. A patient portal tool allows you to send reminders to patients through email, text messages, or even a voicemail message recorded by medical personnel known to the patient.

• Telemedicine Software

  Telemedicine software helps doctors to carry out consultations online and comprises other medical activities such as medicine prescription tools and diagnostics. This makes it convenient for both the doctor and the patient.

• E-Prescribing Software

  Electronic prescriptions are quickly getting popular. With E-prescribing software, physicians cannot only create new prescriptions but also track the previous ones, cancel or renew them if they want to.

• Medical Diagnosis Software

  The medical diagnosis tool seems like the most useful of all tools used by medical professionals. They can provide a complete view of a patient’s condition. It allows experts from different fields to add information to patient records through its automatic integration, assess it in real-time and from a much broader view.

 

How Important Is Health Care Technology?

With the changes in Health Care technology over the last two decades (and those yet to come!), the question isn’t whether we should promote it throughout the nation. More appropriately, the question becomes can we afford not to? To answer this, here are a few benefits of Health Care Technology:
 

• Improved Patient Experience

  The goal of your service is to make your patient feel better. It's all about the patient! Using Health Care Technology will give them a much better experience without having to line up as the dentist's example mentioned earlier. For example, with patient portal software, they can type in their information from the convenience of their home before getting to the hospital.

  Scheduling

  A well-structured scheduling tool saves you from losing patients, money and even medical staff. A good health care tool can help your patients schedule an appointment and even do a quick reschedule if anything comes up at the eleventh hour. As soon as a spot is free, it becomes available for others to consult with medical professionals who are available.

• Billing And Invoicing

  Billing software presents less stress to patients as medical professionals can send them their bills via email automatically with an option to click to pay via their preferred method. Will all that you’ve been reading fade away? What does the future hold in Health Care Technology? The only way to know about that is to read below!

Will all that you’ve been reading fade away? What does the future hold in Health Care Technology? The only way to know about that is to read below!
 

The Future Of Health Care Technology

With the way technology is improving the healthcare industry, healthcare workers must embrace these tools to stay relevant for years to come. Looking into Artificial Intelligence, we believe it has the potential to reshape the health care industry completely. From simple to complex tasks such as answering the phone at busy hospital helpdesks to reviewing historical medical records. AI algorithms can design treatment plans or create drugs much faster thanks to innovative simulations and tests.

Machine Learning can’t be left out also in the future. Some applications like diagnostic tools for diabetic retinopathy and predictive analytics to determine breast cancer recurrence based on medical records are being developed. This will be based entirely on the developments in the field of Machine Learning and other predictive technologies.
 

Summing It Up

Health care is here to stay as we all depend on it. With the developments in Health Care Technology, it can only get better. A new tool might be developed today which will be better than the old ones. You don’t want to be found lagging when your competitors are following the latest trends, right?
The best way to have an edge over them is by improving your existing health care services and medical systems. What better way than using Health Care Technology for that?