Healthcare Technology in Modern Medical Field

Introduction

It’s amazing to look back and see just how far our world has come technologically. If someone from 100 years ago suddenly found themselves in today’s world, they would think they had been teleported into another dimension.

The same can be said about technology in healthcare. From improved operational efficiency to standards in patient care, the healthcare transformation has enhanced the entire experience for both patients and medical professionals.

Health Technology:

Healthcare changes dramatically because of technological developments, from anesthetics and antibiotics to magnetic resonance imaging scanners and radiotherapy. Future technological innovation is going to keep transforming healthcare, yet while technologies (new drugs and treatments, new devices, new social media support for healthcare, etc) will drive innovation, human factors will remain one of the stable limitations of breakthroughs.

Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "Application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives". This includes the pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures and organizational systems used in health care.

Technology drives healthcare more than any other force, and in the future it will continue to develop in dramatic ways. While we can glimpse and debate the details of future trends in healthcare, we need to be clear about the drivers so we can align with them and actively work to ensure the best outcomes for society as a whole.

Medical Technology:

In today’s world, technology plays an important role in every industry as well as in our personal lives. Out of all of the industries that technology plays a crucial role in, healthcare is definitely one of the most important. This merger is responsible for improving and saving countless lives all around the world.

Advancements in medical technology have allowed physicians to better diagnose and treat their patients since the beginning of the professional practice of medicine. Thanks to the continuous development of technology in the medical field, countless lives have been saved and the overall quality of life continues to improve over time.

Medical technology is a broad field where innovation plays a crucial role in sustaining health. Areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, the development of medical devices and equipment, and more have all made significant contributions to improving the health of people all around the world. From “small” innovations like adhesive bandages and ankle braces, to larger, more complex technologies like MRI machines, artificial organs, and robotic prosthetic limbs, technology has undoubtedly made an incredible impact on medicine.

In the healthcare industry, the dependence on medical technology cannot be overstated, and as a result of the development of these brilliant innovations, healthcare practitioners can continue to find ways to improve their practice from better diagnosis, surgical procedures, and improved patient care.

Information Technology and Medicine:

Information technology has made significant contributions to our world, namely in the medical industry. With the increased use of electronic medical records (EMR), telehealth services, and mobile technologies like tablets and smart phones, physicians and patients are both seeing the benefits that these new medical technologies are bringing.

Medical technology has evolved from introducing doctors to new equipment to use inside private practices and hospitals to connecting patients and doctors thousands of miles away through telecommunications. It is not uncommon in today’s world for patients to hold video conferences with physicians to save time and money normally spent on traveling to another geographic location or send health information instantaneously to any specialist or doctor in the world.

With more and more hospitals and practices using medical technology like mobile devices on the job, physicians can now have access to any type of information they need – from drug information, research and studies, patient history or records, and more – within mere seconds. And, with the ability to effortlessly carry these mobile devices around with them throughout the day, they are never far from the information they need. Applications that aid in identifying potential health threats and examining digital information like x-rays and CT scans also contribute to the benefits that information technology brings to medicine.

Medical Equipment Technology:

Improving quality of life is one of the main benefits of integrating new innovations into medicine. Medical technologies like minimally-invasive surgeries, better monitoring systems, and more comfortable scanning equipment are allowing patients to spend less time in recovery and more time enjoying a healthy life.

The integration of medical equipment technology and telehealth has also created robotic surgeries, where in some cases, physicians do not even need to be in the operating room with a patient when the surgery is performed. Instead, surgeons can operate out of their “home base”, and patients can have the procedure done in a hospital or clinic close their own hometown, eliminating the hassles and stress of health-related travel. With other robotic surgeries, the surgeon is still in the room, operating the robotic devices, but the technology allows for a minimally-invasive procedure that leaves patients with less scarring and significantly less recovery time.

Technology and Medical Research:

Medical scientists and physicians are constantly conducting research and testing new procedures to help prevent, diagnose, and cure diseases as well as developing new drugs and medicines that can lessen symptoms or treat ailments.

Through the use of technology in medical research, scientists have been able to examine diseases on a cellular level and produce antibodies against them. These vaccines against life-threatening diseases like malaria, polio, MMR, and more prevent the spread of disease and save thousands of lives all around the globe. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that vaccines save about 3 million lives per year, and prevent millions of others from contracting deadly viruses and diseases.

Medical Technology and the Law:

As technology in the world of healthcare continues to evolve, rules and regulations concerning its use must be established and adjusted to adapt to the new methods of administering care. Regulations like HIPAA and its Privacy and Security Act target the concerns about the confidentiality of patient information and the steps that must be taken to maintain privacy in our digital world. Medical providers and healthcare administration must be careful when choosing to implement new products and technologies into their services, and should ensure that all technologies are “HIPAA compliant” before investing in their implementation. Other initiatives, like the 2010 Health Care Reform bill, state the steps that must be taken by hospitals and other care providers to integrate medical technology into their practices.

Technological innovations in the healthcare industry continue to provide physicians with new ways to improve the quality of care delivered to their patients and improve the state of global healthcare. Through technology’s integration with areas like disease prevention, surgical procedures, better access to information, and medical telecommunications, the medical industry and patients around the world continue to benefit.

Advancements in the Medical Field

• Artificial Intelligence:

 Artificial intelligence has the potential to redesign healthcare completely. AI algorithms are able to mine medical records, design treatment plans or create drugs way faster than any current actor on the healthcare palette including any medical professional. Atom wise uses supercomputers that root out therapies from a database of molecular structures. Last year, the start-up launched a virtual search for safe, existing medicines that could be redesigned to treat the Ebola virus. They found two drugs predicted by the company’s AI technology which may significantly reduce Ebola infectivity.

• Virtual Reality:

Virtual reality is changing the lives of patients and physicians alike. In the future, it might be able to watch operations as if you wielded the scalpel or you could travel to Iceland or home, while you are lying on a hospital bed. Embodied Labs created “We Are Alfred” by using VR technology to show young medical students what ageing means. Everyone can be the hypothetical Alfred for 7 minutes, and experience how it feels like to live as a 74 year-old man with audio-visual impairments. The developers’ ultimate goal is to solve the disconnection between young doctors and elderly patients due to their huge age difference. Fostering empathy between caretakers and their charges is much easier when physicians can see things from the patients’ perspectives.

• Augmented Reality:

Augmented reality differs from VR in two respects: users do not lose touch with reality and it puts information into eyesight as fast as possible. These distinctive features enable AR to become a driving force in the future of medicine; both on the healthcare providers’ and the receivers’ side. In case of medical professionals, it might help medical students prepare better for real-life operations, as well as enables surgeons to enhance their capabilities.

For example Med Sights Tech developed a software to test the feasibility of using augmented reality to create accurate 3-dimensional reconstructions of tumors. The complex image reconstructing technology basically empowers surgeons with x-ray views – without any radiation exposure, in real time. In case of patients, AR might help them describe their symptoms more accurately or pharmaceutical companies might offer more innovative drug information to patients.

• Google Glass Aids Trauma Care:

Trauma surgeons at the Forbes Hospital Trauma Center near Pittsburgh are testing Google Glass technology using a software called VIZR, Visual Info Zonal Reminder. Google Glass is a wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display that provides information in a smartphone-like, hands-free format. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice command. At Forbes, the technology initially is being used to provide prompts during patient resuscitation based on checklists similar to those used in the aviation industry. “With this new technology, surgeons will have hands-free, immediate access to critical information, checklists and reminders specific to injury categories that will greatly assist our efforts to provide effective, timely care that saves lives,” says Christoph R. Kaufmann, M.D., trauma medical director. For example, if a pregnant patient with injuries to the abdomen is in transport to the emergency department, the surgeon can use a voice command to access a checklist with crucial questions to ask the paramedic upon or even before the ambulance arrives.

• Healthcare Trackers, Wearables and Sensors:

As the future of medicine and healthcare is closely connected to the empowerment of patients as well as individuals taking care of their own health through technologies, health trackers, wearables and sensors must be mentioned. They are great devices to get to know more about ourselves and retake control over our own lives.

• Fingertip Surgery:

A stretchable electronic sensor may replace the scalpel and other operating room tools for some surgical procedures. It lets physicians feel electronic activity and slice tissue with their fingertips. Futuristicnews.com reports that researchers at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and Dalian (China) University of Technology changed hard semiconductors into flexible electronics “and managed to produce special materials, which could be used for surgical gloves that give their wearer an enhanced sense of touch.” The news website states that silicon was transformed into ultrathin “nanomembranes, cut into wavy shapes and combined with a rubbery membrane.”

• Medical Tricorder:

When it comes to gadgets and instant solutions, there is the great dream of every healthcare professional: to have one all-mighty and omnipotent device, with which you can diagnose and analyze every disease.

Although the currently available products (e.g. Viatom CheckMe), are a bit far from the tricorder, we will get there soon. You will see high power microscopes with smartphones, for example, analyzing swab samples and photos of skin lesions. Sensors could pick up abnormalities in DNA, or detect antibodies and specific proteins. An electronic nose, an ultrasonic probe, or almost anything we have now could be yoked to a smartphone and augment its features.

• A Health Check Chair:

Checking health signs such as blood pressure, temperature and mobility usually involves multiple tests and can be time-consuming.

A chair developed by Sharp is equipped with multiple sensors that can measure a user’s vital signs all at once and save the data to the cloud for physicians to reference. Sharp designed the chair for patients to use at home and is considering adding a videoconferencing system so patients can visit with physicians remotely.

• Genome Sequencing:

The whole Human Genome Project cost approximately $2.7 billion for the US government, which is an insanely huge amount of money. Especially if you consider that in January, 2017, DNA sequencing giant Illumina unveiled a new machine that the company says is “expected one day” to order up your whole genome for less than $100. This would mean that you might have a cheaper genetic test than a general blood test (for which prices vary between approximately $10-150).

And it has so much potential. You can get to know valuable information about your drug sensitivity, multifactorial or monogenic medical conditions and even your family history. Moreover, there are already various fields leveraging the advantages of genome sequencing, such as nutrigenomics, the cross-field of nutrition, dietetics and genomics. Some companies such as the California-based start-up, Habit, are offering personalized diets based on genetic codes. Or consider the Nova Scotia-based performance company, Athletigen Technology Inc. operating on the cross-field of sports and genomics. It aims to use collected DNA information of sportsmen to improve their performance, health and safety.

• Revolutionizing Drug Development:

Currently, the process of developing new drugs is too long and too expensive. However, there are ways to improve it ranging from artificial intelligence to better organizational procedures. The most revolutionary is the concept of in silico trials. They are individualized computer simulations used in the development or regulatory evaluation of a medicinal product, device or intervention.

While completely simulated clinical trials are not feasible with current technology and understanding of biology, its development would be expected to have major benefits over current in vivo clinical trials, and research on it is being pursued.

• Nanotechnology:

We are living at the dawn of the nano medicine age. It is believed that nanoparticles and nano devices will soon operate as precise drug delivery systems, cancer treatment tools or tiny surgeons.

For example, researchers from the Max Planck Institute have been experimenting with exceptionally micro-sized – smaller than a millimeter – robots that literally swim through the bodily fluids; and could be used to deliver drugs or other medical relief in a highly targeted way. These scallop-like microbots are designed to swim through non-Newtonian fluids, like the bloodstream, around the lymphatic system, or across the slippery goo on the surface of the eyeballs.

• Battery-Powered Germ-Killers:

As the number of joint replacement surgeries grows, so do concerns about the complications of infection from antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Biomedical engineers from the North Carolina State University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering are developing nanotechnology built directly into orthopedic implants. A battery-activated device powers an army of microscopic germ-killers to fight bacterial infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus, or MRSA. The process applies a low-intensity electrical charge to a silver titanium implant, releasing low-toxicity silver ions that kill or neutralize bacteria. The power source, similar to a watch battery, can be integrated into the implant design. The body’s own fluids act as a conducting medium between battery and silver, enabling the low-level charge.

• Robotics:

One of the most exciting and fastest growing fields of healthcare is robotics; developments range from robot companions through surgical robots until pharmabotics, disinfectant robots or exoskeletons. With the help of these devices paralyzed people can walk, rehabilitation of stroke or spinal cord injury patients. They can enhance strength so that it allows a nurse to lift an elderly patient.

Certain robot companions can serve as a social partner in order to alleviate loneliness or treat mental health issues. The Jibo, Pepper, Paro and Buddy robots are all existing examples. Some of them even have touch sensors, cameras and microphones. Thus their owners can get into discussions with them, ask them to find a great concert for that night or just remind them about their medications.

• The Orderly Robot:

The UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay now has a fleet of about two dozen Tug robots delivering drugs, linens and meals and carting away medical waste, soiled linens and trash, reports Josh Valcarcel in Wired magazine. Twenty-seven infrared and ultrasonic sensors enable the robots to avoid bumping into people or blocking their paths. They stand back from elevators and summon them through the hospital’s Wi-Fi, using radio waves to open doors.

• 3D-Bioprinting:

The list of successfully 3D-printed objects demonstrates the potential this technology holds for the near future of medicine. There are already at least 12 ways in which 3D-printing can be utilized in healthcare ranging from printing tissues with blood vessels until bones and synthetic skin.

There are 3D-printing in every corner of the world already. “Not Impossible Labs” based in Venice, California took 3D printers to Sudan where the chaos of war has left many people with amputated limbs. The organization’s founder, Mick Ebeling, trained locals how to operate the machinery, create patient specific limbs, and fit these new, very inexpensive prosthetics.

Last year, Cornell University scientists used a 3-D printer to produce an artificial ear that, according to Randy Reiland’s January 2014 report in Smithsonian.com, “looks and works like the real thing.” Reiland notes that researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have bioprinted blood vessels; their counterparts at Wake Forest University developed a method for printing skin cells directly onto wounds. And a company called Organovo has come up with a 3-D printed liver.

Next up? According to Bernard Meyerson, writing for weforum.com, a 4-D printer is being developed capable of creating products that can alter themselves in response to environmental change, such as heat and humidity. That could be useful for things like clothes and footwear, Meyerson points out, and also for “health care products, such as implants designed to change in the human body.”

Advanced Applications in Medical Industry

1. Electronic Health Record:

·        In 2009, only 16 percent of U.S. hospitals were using an EHR. By 2013, about 80 percent of hospitals eligible for CMS' meaningful use incentives program had incorporated an EHR into their organizations.

·        While the EHR has already created big strides in the centralization and efficiency of patient information, it can also be used as a data and population health tool for the future.

2. mHealth:

·        Mobile health is freeing healthcare devices of wires and cords and enabling physicians and patients alike to check on healthcare processes on-the-go.

·        Smartphones and tablets allow healthcare providers to more freely access and send information.

·        Physicians and service providers can use mHealth tools for orders, documentation and simply to reach more information when with patients.

·        However, mHealth is not only about wireless connectivity. It has also become a tool that allows patients to become active players in their treatment by connecting communication with biometrics.

3. Telemedicine / Telehealth

·        Studies consistently show the benefit of telehealth, especially in rural settings that do not have access to the same resources metropolitan areas may have. A large-scale study published in CHEST Journal shows patients in an intensive care unit equipped with telehealth services were discharged from the ICU 20 percent more quickly and saw a 26 percent lower mortality rate than patients in a regular ICU.

·        The cost benefits of telehealth can't be ignored either. For example, Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint rolled out a video consultation program in February 2013 where patients can receive a full assessment through a video chat with a physician. Claims are automatically generated, but the fees are reduced to factor out traditional office costs. Setting the actual healthcare cost.

4. Portal Technology

·        Patients are increasingly becoming active players in their own healthcare, and portal technology is one tool helping them to do so. Portal technology allows physicians and patients to access medical records and interact online. This type of technology allows patients to become more closely involved and better educated about their care. In addition to increasing access and availability of medical information. Portal technology can be a source of empowerment and responsibility for patients.

5. Self-Service Kiosks

·        Similar to portal technology, self-service kiosks can help expedite processes like hospital registration. Patients can increasingly do everything related to registration without having to talk to anyone. This can help with staffing savings, and some patients are more comfortable with it. Automated kiosks can assist patients with paying co-pays, checking identification, signing paperwork and other registration requirements.

·        However, hospitals need to be cautious when integrating it to ensure human to human communication is not entirely eliminated. If a person wants to speak to a person, they should be able to speak with a person.

6. Remote Monitoring Tools

·        Monitoring patients' health at home can reduce costs and unnecessary visits to a physician's office.

7. Real-time locating services

·        Another growing data monitoring tool, real-time locating services, are helping hospitals focus on efficiency and instantly identify problem areas. Hospitals can implement tracking systems for instruments, devices and even clinical staff. These services gather data on areas and departments that previously were difficult to track. These tools also allow flexibility for last minute changes.

8. Pharmacogenomics/genome sequencing

·        Personalized medicine continues to edge closer to the forefront of the healthcare industry. Tailoring treatment plans to individuals and anticipating the onset of certain diseases offers promising benefits for healthcare efficiency and diagnostic accuracy. Pharmacogenomics in particular could help reduce the billions of dollars in excess healthcare spending due to adverse drug events, misdiagnoses, readmissions and other unnecessary costs.

·        Before a full-fledged system of pharmacogenomics comes to fruition, the healthcare industry needs a tool that can aggregate and analyze all the big data and digital health information.

·        Tools for big data analysis for pharmacogenomics are still being developed, but data analytics and data aggregation for the purpose of population health may be the next big advancement on the horizon.

Healthcare Technology Trends and Innovations

1. Availability of Information and big data

The accessibility of data and the means to store and process it is a hallmark of the technological age. The Internet, intranet systems, search features and the ability for healthcare professionals to rapidly share information have enhanced the synthesis and analysis of data.

“Big data” in healthcare allows the entire field to benefit from comprehensive research studies. These endeavours can access larger and more diverse population groups than ever before. They can also draw from existing studies for comprehensive meta-analyses. This innovation allows medical professionals to stay on top of health care trends, techniques and technologies. This can be used to automatically identify risk factors and recommend the right preventative treatment by comparing patient data with data from thousands of other patients.

2. Improved Communication

Technological innovations in healthcare have facilitated much smoother communication within healthcare organizations. Medical professionals can now use media such as video, online discussion platforms and real-time meeting capacities to communicate and advance the spread of knowledge in the field. Electronic medical records in-house are accessible by all relevant departments and care providers. This results in improved case management, treatments and patient recovery.

3. Electronic Medical Records

Previously, medical information from visits to the General Practitioner (GP), medical specialist, allied health professionals and the dentists were held in separate locations with different health practitioners and hospitals. Electronic medical records allow all patient histories, test results, diagnoses and relevant information to be stored centrally in an online location. The data allows for more focused and accurate care as well as the ability to see health trends for each individual. Medical billing systems allow hospitals, clinics and medical practices to run much more smoothly.

4. Telemedicine/Telehealth

Telemedicine/Telehealth services such as video-conferencing are becoming cost effective ways to complement local health services. It is particularly beneficial to those living in rural, regional and remote communities and requiring regular access to medical specialists who live several kms away. Generally you have a GP, other medical practitioners, nurse practitioners, midwives, health workers and practice nurses providing face-to-face clinical services to the patient during the teleconsultation with the specialist to ensure the correct procedures are carried out. Teleconsultation is also beneficial to health care workers on location, as specialist can provide education and training virtually.

5. Mobility and Mobile Apps

Mobile software applications are key to improving accessibility for patients and healthcare professionals. Mobile apps enable people to easily manage their health and wellbeing; everything from prompting them to get checkups, to finding general medical information or accessing their test results securely online 24/7 without having to book in an appointment with their GP and wait days for results. Healthcare professionals on the other hand, can quickly access information relating to diseases and drugs, images for clinical matters, continued education activities and so on.

How Technology Can Transform Digital Services

The positive impact of technology in healthcare is clear. Hospitals that make a digital transition experience all of these benefits of healthcare technology, trends and innovation. Making the move promises a higher caliber of care across the board. Embracing digital healthcare services facilitates:

• Cutting-edge digital platforms
• Improved operational efficiency
• Integrated approach to patient care
• Automated administrative and clinical processes
• Easier collaboration
• Higher HIMSS
• Enhanced capacity for innovation
• Better patient outcomes
• Reduced costs

Biggest Impacts in Technology on Healthcare

1. The Internet Has Become a Main Source of Medical Information

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, in a 2004 survey of 8 million seniors who use the internet, only 66% said they searched healthcare information online. In 2009 24 million Americans reported the same.

It goes without saying that more and more people are using the Internet to research their medical issues. This means not only looking up symptoms, but exploring treatments and medicines on the web. While it is never a good idea to skip out on the doctor completely, the Internet has made patients more empowered to make decisions about what to do next.

2. Healthcare Facilities are Reaching Patients Using Social Media

It is easy to see how public clinics, doctor offices, and even research facilities can take advantage of social media tools to reach wider populations. And there is evidence that they are going above and beyond.

Healthcare facilities, particularly hospitals, are using social media to establish contact with patients, answer questions about practices, launch public awareness campaigns, and perform community outreach. Some sophisticated sites even offer instant chats with nurses and doctors about medical issues and reminders for people to get regularly needed tests and vaccines.

3. Better Treatment and Less Suffering

Let's not forget the most obvious way technology has changed healthcare: by providing new machines, medicines, and treatments that save lives and improve the chance of recovery for billions. Not only do sophisticated medical practices help patients heal directly; new technology has also improved research so experts can make healthcare even more effective.

This moving story of how new technology changed the life of someone who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is only one example of how lives are being changed in practical, every-day terms.

4. Improved Patient Care and Worker Efficiency

Information technology has made patient care safer and more reliable than before. Nurses and doctors use hand-held computers to record a patient’s medical history and check that they are administering the correct treatment. Results of lab tests, records of vital signs, and medicine orders are all electronically put into a main database that can be referred to later. And as more institutions are adopting electronic health records, patients have easier access to their own information so they too can understand what is being done to them.

These electronic databases are also consolidating large amounts of information that are used for medical research. With vast patient history, scientists can better study trends and causes of ailments. This means more breakthroughs to come.

5. Doctors Are Easier To Reach and Better at Their Jobs

With the touch of a smartphone doctors can access thousands of pages of medical textbooks. They can also use online medical databases to easily look up case studies and check out detailed patient history.

Technology has also enabled doctors to use e-mail, texts, videos, and conference facilities to consult colleagues from all over the world. This practice, known as telemedicine, is especially useful for doctors and patients in rural and under-developed areas. Without moving patients, doctors can consult experts from all over the world to diagnose, treat, and research conditions without needing access to a sophisticated hospital. Telemedicine was used effectively after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and will no doubt be refined for future use.

6. Online Databases Can Accurately Predict Medical Trends

By analyzing health information that users search for online, search engines such as Google have been able to accurately predict medical trends such as flu outbreaks.

Google explains its process on Google.org:

"Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries are added together. We compared our query counts with traditional flu surveillance systems and found that many search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in different countries and regions around the world."

This breakthrough will help medical experts respond to outbreaks quickly as well as take preventative measures. And as more and more people use the web to search for their own medical problems, these internet giants will have even more information to apply to scientific studies.

?The Dark Side of Technology

Technology can also bring hidden dangers if you aren’t careful. The internet in particular is known for this. Though some would disagree, the infinite stream of medical knowledge available online is not necessarily a good thing.

Websites like WebMD can be a great resource for living a healthy lifestyle, but they should never be used to replace your physician. Far too often a simple ache can be misconstrued as something far more serious.

Self-diagnosis is a dangerous road to go down. At best you’ll scare yourself into thinking something is seriously wrong when it isn’t.

At worst you’ll misdiagnose yourself and cause serious damage to your health and well-being. There’s a reason it takes nearly a decade to become a doctor.

Unfortunately the internet provides a cheap and “easy” way to avoid going to the doctor. In the long term, however, it may wind up costing you much more than you ever expected.

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