Essay on Connecting Health and Digital Medicine

Digital technology has been integrated into the practice of medicine over the last fifty years. This technology address the standard patient care concerns which include patient records and patient monitoring (blood pressure and heart monitors) (Topol, 2015). There has been an implementation of wireless technologies in medicine and other innovations that include cloud computing that contributes to accelerating the convergence of medicine and technology. The advancements in biomarker and genomics have created new possibilities in the preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment. These medical improvements combined with the real-world patient data allow the life sciences companies to develop specialized medicines.

The translation sciences are now allowing health care professionals to understand the human anatomy and biology at both the physiological and the genomic level. Therefore, healthcare experts can fully appreciate every individual at the granular level hence enabling the prevention and best management in a very efficient and precise manner (Topol, 2015).

Technology Innovations Connect Stakeholders across the Care Continuum

Internet and Social Media

Patients have become technology savvy hence are not afraid to take their health matters into their own hands. The expanding care resources are now at the patients fingertips, and they want to learn more so that they can be part of the decision-making process that affects their health as well as connect patients, care providers and insurers (Grajales, Sheps, Novak-Lauscher & Eysenbach, 2014). Social media combined with the expanding health information found on the internet and the changing attitude privacy has allowed patients to voice concerns about their healthcare over the internet and social media.

The patients look at the internet resources with the aim of comparing treatments, symptoms as well as experiences with other patients like them and therefore be able to take control of their health care (Grajales et al. 2014). For example, the WebMD educates patients as well as the caregivers on health issues and diseases (Grajales et al. 2014).Therefore, the old model of healthcare that was considered as diagnose and treats and the healthcare provider as the master has become a thing of the past.

Wireless Sensors

Advancements in the wireless technology have made it possible for the physicians to monitor their patients outside and inside the clinical settings (Topol, Steinhubl & Torkamani, 2015). Sensors are put in a wide range of applications for example; check the patient vitals, assess impacts, for instance, the helmet developed by Reebok used to analyze any head impacts during games and sports by flashing light when the player is hit too hard, track various medicines and keep the skin health by using sensors to check the UV-exposure levels (Topol et al. 2015).

How Real-Time Data Encourages Outcome Focused Planning

Various companies have developed wearable, and Wi-Fi enabled sensors that can detect vital information and relay it to the physician or patients in real time hence encouraging outcome-focused planning. Accurate real-time data accrues to the patients, insurers and the society.

Impact of Technology on Future Healthcare Delivery

The internet will enable the patients to make the proper diagnosis and get the correct treatment through the internet hence lessening the old model in which the physician was the master. The patients will, however, be misguided by some internet information since all the information is not from a credible source hence may be misguiding. The use of advanced technology will enable physicians to diagnose, treat and also monitor patients inside and outside of hospitals (Topol, 2015).

References

Grajales III, F. J., Sheps, S., Ho, K., Novak-Lauscher, H., & Eysenbach, G. (2014). Social media: a review and tutorial of applications in medicine and health care. Journal of medical Internet research, 16(2).

Topol, E. J. (2015). The patient will see you now: the future of medicine is in your hands. Tantor Media.

Topol, E. J., Steinhubl, S. R., & Torkamani, A. (2015). Digital medical tools and sensors. Jama, 313(4), 353-354.