How Today’s Healthcare Is Shifting from Treatment To Prevention
For many families, the ways that practices interact with them matters, especially when handling chronic health conditions that require long-term treatment plans. Because of this demand, healthcare companies, medical researchers, and other areas of healthcare have been studying the effects of digital technology in the healthcare industry. With the advancement of digital methods, the industry has begun predicting that how care is delivered will drastically change. More specifically, that the often treatment-focused approach given by healthcare providers will shift towards prevention as our use of technology expands. To learn about what this all means, we’re taking a quick look into some studies to provide some answers.
How Digital Mediums Have Changed The Health Industry
Since the 1970s and 80s, research in biology and disease started being combined with computerized data, or the process of storing personal information in an electronic format. Because of the huge advancement in computers back then, new scientific disciplines also started to show up, giving way to specialized research areas in genomics, bioinformatics, and system biology. The growth of computers essentially helped the medical industry look deeper at the biological system and its behaviors, ultimately leading to advancements in research for chronic health conditions and diseases.
From this, many studies have begun working with a simulated approach for testing drugs using complex biological computerized systems, and through these tests have been able to increase the availability of clinical trials that patients with chronic and rare conditions can participate in. Through this avenue of research, new intervention methods, new medications, and management systems have helped expand opportunities for people to receive treatment. By expanding on these methods, many researchers hope that it can reduce the need for emergency treatments and mortality rates across the general population.
By receiving better access to technology, the healthcare industry can support more advancements in chronic disease treatments. If it advances enough, it can move towards population-level prevention and lifestyle changes that reduce the need for prescription drugs and treatment-focused areas that often don’t work to prevent health problems often faced by families.
What Digital Technologies We Have Today
Right now, we’re only at the start of our technological developments. As future generations become more health-conscious, these digital methods of communication and care can lead to better transparency from healthcare companies, improved access to personal data, and overall more efficient chronic disease management. Our digital landscape right now includes:
• Telemedicine: Telemedicine has become a huge stepping stone in healthcare, as it removes social barriers and unnecessary costs associated with appointments and treatment.
• Patient Management Software: For practices, having improved software can help change the way patients, doctors, and healthcare companies interact with data.
• Monitoring Systems: Monitoring systems, such as lifestyle apps can help monitor aspects of fitness and nutrition for those with chronic health conditions.
Only time will tell how these digital technologies will improve our healthcare system, and hopefully, through these advancements, we can meet the needs of patients by delivering better solutions for everyone.
