For most primary care and urgent care practices, enhancing the way care is delivered is a vital aspect of how today’s practices are run, especially when helping patients through chronic health conditions. Because of the huge amounts of demand for healthcare, the industry itself has been working to improve the conditions practices face by improving technological advancements. Through advancing these methods, we’re already seeing the results of how care is delivered to patients. Right now, many of the current pieces of technology we use to assist in allowing us to provide better treatments and a more comprehensive experience. Through these changes, healthcare providers will potentially shift their focus from treatment to prevention.
How Digital Technology’s Changing the Healthcare Industry
Research in disease pathology and biology improved with the addition of computerized data back in the 1970s and 1980s. Computerized data allowed the ability to store personal information in an electronic format, and because of this advancement, new scientific disciplines emerged. Studies in genomics, bioinformatics, and system biology helped the medical industry look deeper into disease pathology and its behaviors. From there, it’s led to some great advancements in chronic health treatments such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
To dive deeper into this subject, many studies have been working with simulations for testing drugs through computerized biological systems. From these various tests, researchers have been able to help increase access to clinical trials for patients with chronic conditions, and because of the increase in participation in these studies, new intervention methods, medications, and management systems have been expanded upon to help people receive treatment. These advances also have the potential to reduce the need for emergency care and help reduce mortality rates across the general population.
All of these results came from having better access and advancements in technology. The healthcare industry can potentially support more advancements in chronic disease treatments, and if it advances enough, our healthcare systems can work towards prevention methods for diseases through lifestyle recommendations rather than treatment-focused methods that focus on prescription drugs and surgical methods.
Our Digital Technologies In Place Today
Our practices continue to implement the best technology out there to help our patients receive care, and as future generations begin to become more health-conscious, digital methods of treatment and communication have been able to help increase transparency, access to personal data, and chronic disease management. These technologies include:
• Telemedicine: Telemedicine has been a huge advancement for practices everywhere, as these methods of communication have helped many patients receive care without the unnecessary costs associated with appointments and social barriers often faced by patients in rural communities.
• Patient Management Software: Practices can work more effectively at organizing patient appointments and treatment plans through management software.
• Monitoring Systems: For those with chronic diseases, many apps and programs have been developed over the last ten years to help monitor various aspects of their nutrition and fitness levels.
Today’s practices rely on the advancement of digital technology, and through these improvements, our healthcare system can work to meet the needs of patients with chronic health problems and deliver better solutions all around.
