How Healthcare Has Changed Rapidly Across The Years

Many changes and developments have positively been happening over the years. In the last decade alone, how the world was when it opened was vastly different from when it finally came to a close. Of course, changes continue to occur here and there, mostly for the improvement and betterment of all industries, including the healthcare sector.

How has the quality of healthcare changed across the years?   What are the changes it has gone through?   This article gives you a rundown.

1. Availability Of Electronic Health Records

Hospitals are operating much more efficiently today than they have ever been. In recent years, electronic health records have been introduced. This means that hospitals no longer need to keep physical files of records for every department, for instance, at the doctor’s clinic, pharmacy, hospital wards in case of admission, laboratories, and other areas of the hospital.

Through electronic health records, everything about the patient is synchronized in one file. When the hospital accepts a patient, the information is simply typed into the computer system. This makes tracking of the patient’s medical history also more efficient.

Electronic health records make hospital operations, healthcare, and even the future of homecare more efficient. Mistakes due to human error are also minimized.

2. New Healthcare Electronic Technologies

Another one of the most apparent changes in the healthcare industry has to do with the availability of healthcare electronic technologies. Because of advancements in technology, the healthcare industry is also significantly improving as to machinery and equipment used.

Examples of changes in equipment are the following:

• Presence of PET scans that are now clearer than ever
• Ultrasound devices have now improved, such that 4D images and videos of the baby in the womb are now possible
• 3D printing of test results
• GPS tracking and other wearable biometric devices
• Better home wellness and exercise machines

These new technologies, among many, help improve the quality of test results. In essence, healthcare has improved so much that it’s also now easier to diagnose certain diseases that once were difficult to detect. Treatment plans can be better, thereby also improving the chances of survival of patients suffering from dreaded illnesses.

3. Availability Of mHealth

mHealth is what’s otherwise known as mobile health. This refers to the use of mobile phones and other mobile devices to transmit data from physicians to patients. In recent times, doctors can now better communicate with their patients, and vice versa. This has cut down the need for patients to have to see their doctor physically for very minimal purposes, such as only to claim results.

The presence of more and more advanced smartphones has paved the way for better wireless connectivity. This includes matters about the following:

• Better access of healthcare providers to information
• Ease of sending out data by healthcare providers to patients
• Better and more accurate documentation of data and results

4. Healthcare Providers’ Focus On Education

Healthcare providers also now see the greater importance of obtaining higher education. This means that they no longer settle on where they stand as of the moment. More healthcare providers are earning masters and doctorate degrees while also practicing their profession. With this kind of focus, the quality of healthcare also improves.

Note that in this delicate industry, success isn’t only dependent on gadgets and various new technologies. Much of the work still has to do with the brains behind these tools–the doctors and healthcare workers. The more that professionals in the medical industry learn, all the better that they can serve patients.

5. Availability Of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is like a branch of mobile health. But, telemedicine, in particular, affects those patients that are from the rural areas and even those that experience difficulty with mobility. Once upon a time, it was extremely difficult for these groups of patients to have themselves undergo diagnostic or laboratory tests as it would mean them traveling far distances. Then, once the results were in after a few days, they had to travel again to pick up the documents and so the doctor could interpret the data to them.

With telemedicine, this process is made easier and more efficient. Yes, these patients still need to travel to the bigger hospitals for lab tests. But, they no longer have to go back and forth to pick up results. The doctors read them, then send the results and interpretation through the email or any software available by the hospital’s website. The only time that the patient has to go back is if there’s something seriously wrong that needs immediate treatment.

6. Development Of Better Medicines

Many years back, there are medicines that are present today that were previously unheard of. This is one of the best gifts of technology that increases a person’s chances of living. Additionally, the presence of more advanced medications means that patients go through less pain and discomfort whenever they need treatment.

A concrete example of medicines that are now very beneficial to everyone is anesthesia. Many years back, this didn’t exist in the state of advancement and effectivity that it is in today. The change has to do with how anesthesia today is localized. This means that your whole body doesn’t need to be numb, nor do you have to be put to sleep, even just for the smallest of all concerns. For instance, if you only need the anesthesia in your hands, then it’s only in your hands that it will be applied. This also makes for better recovery after the procedure.

Along with the development of better medicines also came positive changes in the manner of administering medications in a person’s body. The means that medicine administration today is far safer than it was before. For example, pills and capsules now come in smaller forms. IV injection isn’t the only way to administer certain types of medication. As aptly mentioned earlier, there are even means of self-administration where patients can heal and care for themselves in their own homes.

Conclusion

In the past years and even up until today, technological advancements can be seen almost everywhere. Inventions start to pop up here and there, making industries improve as they continue to evolve. The healthcare industry is also one of those that has greatly benefited from the said advancements. From those enumerated above, it’s now clear that changes are happening in almost all sectors of healthcare. From the most basic step of patient registration to more complicated ones, like lab tests and self-monitoring, the healthcare industry has evolved and changed for the better, and continues to do so.