How Digital Tech is Helping Healthcare During the Pandemic

As corporations continue to throw money at R&D and new tech emerges, the healthcare sector is one of the first to benefit and in the fight against Covid-19, tech has played a major role in the medical response, with telehealth leading the way. Doctors and hospitals have been stretched to their limits and their IT infrastructure is an essential aspect of every healthcare provider, allowing access to real-time information regarding the spread of the virus, or so we are led to believe.

Here are a few ways that digital tech supports the healthcare sector.

• Delivering medical services in a virtual environment – Known as telehealth, the health practitioner and patient are connected via a Zoom video call and in most cases, this is enough for the healthcare provider to give an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the correct medication. The great thing about this is that both doctor and patient are protected and most GPs now offer virtual consultations to their patients, which is safe and very convenient.
• Medical history – When a person is away from home and visits a doctor, the medical professional simply accesses the medical record retrieval from a leading online portal. It is critical that a doctor has instant access to a new patient’s medical history and record retrieval services empower doctors and first responders by giving instant access to medical records.
• Tracking infections – There are digital apps that allow medical professionals to track your movement and in the event you were infected, they can easily see where you have been and can isolate those who came into contact with you. There are new variants emerging all over the world and digital tracking helps to accurately survey where infections are concentrated.
• Online physio treatment – Your local physio would probably offer virtual consultations, using a VoIP platform like Zoom and the physio can show you the exercises you need to do, while also observing you as you do so. Athletes recovering from injury often consult a physio to promote healing, while other branches of medicine can also benefit from virtual consultations.
• Fitness – Most gyms offer virtual classes, while you can also sign up for an online yoga or Pilates course, which is just as much fun as if you were at the gym; your instructor can see and hear you and he or she can talk to you one on one if they wish. Click here for information on how technology is making our roads safer.
• X-Ray diagnosis – AI has been trained to diagnose X-Ray images and after a training period, the system can out-perform even the best doctor in terms of spotting malignant growths and other anomalies. The limits of machine learning are endless and life expectancy is on the rise, as we learn to make early diagnosis, which leads to prompt treatment.
• Delicate brain surgery – Advanced robotics controlled by AI will allow delicate brain surgery to be carried out with no chance of error. There are already several US hospitals that are using robotics in surgical operations and the number will increase over the next few years.
• Informing the general public – The media uses many digital platforms to make Covid-19 information available, especially social media and it is important that we are all on the same page.

We should all keep an eye on the US government latest news on the pandemic, as things can change in an instant. When 5G is up and running, we will see the Internet of Things; a platform for devices that will see even more improvements in the health sector.