Time doesn’t stand still, especially in the medical community.
Every single day, advances are being made in the fields of medicine and technology that have the potential to dramatically change the course of history-making daily practice easier, while also having far-reaching effects on the lifestyles of patients and doctors alike.
Top 5 Most Talked about Healthcare Tools
- A.I
- Centralized Monitoring of Hospital Patients
- Medical Apps
- Telemedicine
- 3-D PRinters
As we close out 2018 and look towards a new year, here are five of the most talked about healthcare tools and technological advances being made that promise to be significant players in the months and years to come
1. A.I. (Artificial intelligence)
AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is costly to implement and requires a dedicated team of staff willing to learn and adapt to the quirks of an algorithm-powered interface; but once established as part of well-run data operation, AI has been proven to reduce hospital costs and streamline information in unique ways.
An MIT study demonstrated the accrued financial cost of medical errors currently stands at $19.5 billion in the United States alone. Unlike humans, artificial intelligence doesn’t grow tired, require coffee breaks, or make careless errors when emotionally compromised. And while nothing could ever replace the humanity of a living, breathing physician, AI exists to make life easier thanks to its algorithm-programmed applications.
AI is also enormously helpful when looking for trends or patterns in vast quantities of data. Performing research and developing new drugs can take humans an incredible number of hours; AI can perform broad, thorough analysis in a fraction of the time, with little to no margin for error, allowing hospital staff and clinicians the freedom to expend energy on other necessary undertakings.
2. Centralized monitoring of hospital patients
Cut down on alarm fatigue with systems that are capable of more broadly monitoring the important alert factors of patients and provide more appropriate notification to nurses and hospital staff.
According to the American Heart Association, up to 44% of in-patient, cardiac arrest alarms are not detected in time, getting lost in the din of other less critical (but equally audible) signals. By streamlining vital alerts and allowing medical staff to place attention on the most critical ones first, patients can expect to receive appropriately prioritized care while doctors and nurses can release the burden of spending time deciphering a barrage of sounds.
3. Medical apps for download
In the age of accessibility, knowing and acting upon what information is circulating in the digital space has the potential to make or break your reputation. Physicians can tap into the online conversation and keep their finger to the pulse of their online presence using Mention, a media management program that allows users to receive detailed alerts every time something new is posted about them online. By increasing awareness of your online presence and creating a direct line of contact between yourself and the online world, you can efficiently manage crisis and rectify any miscommunication or ill-tempered post that might undermine your good name.
Other helpful apps available for download include:
Medscape, a medical reference tool used by nearly 50% of physicians for everything from dosing calculation to breaking news updates.
Doximity, an app that performs tasks such as interchangeable call display, allowing you to call patients from your smartphone while displaying your office number, in addition to securely networking with other practitioners and safely exchanging information.
4. Telemedicine
House calls will become more literal as the new year approaches, with over 200 service platforms specifically designed to cater to digital medical consulting in existence in the United States alone. Doctors can now deliver remote consults from the comfort and privacy of their own office when patients cannot arrive in person, allowing for increased flexibility, cost-effectiveness and less wait time in between appointments.
5. 3-D Printers
Over the past handful of years, uses of 3-D printing have skyrocketed. From installing printing labs directly in hospitals and allowing physicians to print models of a patient’s organs for practice operations, to the low-cost manufacturing of inexpensive prosthetics for patients in developing countries, 3-D printing is taking what is best about the medical field – excellence, precision, and attention to detail – and replicating it in a tangible way in laboratories across the world. By allowing doctors and clinicians the ability to interact with accurately scaled organs, researchers believe the rate of mortality in hospitals will see a decrease in coming years, a physician’s confidence in the act of surgery grows due to the pre-surgical familiarity with the affected body part.