Three New Tech Trends in Healthcare
These are exciting times to be alive, and thanks to
advances in technology and science, people are living longer and enjoying
better lives than at any other time in history. Advances in medical science,
aided by the data sharing of electronic health records (EHR) is making it
possible to treat people in new and exciting ways. Here are three new trends in
healthcare that are helping people live healthier lives.
Nano Technology (and
other small things)
There was a time when any invasive medical
procedure was risky and painful. Surgical instruments were large, and incisions
had to be even larger to allow the surgeons and medical team to see what it was
they were working on.
Today, thanks to nano technology, even the most complex procedures are much less taxing on patients. Nano technology involves shrinking things - everything. Now surgeons can see the chambers of the heart without ever cutting open the patient's chest or skin. All they do is run a catheter through a small hole in the leg, through an artery and into the heart. Cameras, stents, balloons and other life-saving medical devices and tools can be inserted into a body. And the best part is that damage to the patient due to trauma, incisions, and mistakes is significantly minimized. Shrinking technological devices are used in everything from heart to cancer to neuroscience. And it's paying off big time.
Today, thanks to nano technology, even the most complex procedures are much less taxing on patients. Nano technology involves shrinking things - everything. Now surgeons can see the chambers of the heart without ever cutting open the patient's chest or skin. All they do is run a catheter through a small hole in the leg, through an artery and into the heart. Cameras, stents, balloons and other life-saving medical devices and tools can be inserted into a body. And the best part is that damage to the patient due to trauma, incisions, and mistakes is significantly minimized. Shrinking technological devices are used in everything from heart to cancer to neuroscience. And it's paying off big time.
Digital Imaging
Sometimes a doctor can't treat what a doctor
can't see. This is especially true for complex medical conditions related to
the heart, pregnancy and cancer. Thanks to advances in digital imaging, doctors
can see more today than they ever could in the past. They can see inside the
brain and heart. They can see three-dimensional images of fetuses in the womb.
And they can see individual blood vessels. And because they can see more, they
can save more lives.
Electronic Health Records
We live in the information age. Information is
power, and in healthcare, it guides how doctors care for us. In the past,
patient information was static. It existed only in a patient's official
"medical records," which were in one place - the patient's primary
doctor's office. If another doctor needed the information, he or she had to
contact the primary care physician and request it. This could take hours, days
or even longer. And it was a problem, especially in an emergency.
Today, thanks to electronic medical records, patients' medical information is available to any medical professional who needs them and has the patients' permission to access it. Records are more comprehensive than ever, including doctor notes, images, and prescription history - all of which can be cross-referenced to ensure that a patient's doctors are all working with the same information. EHRs can, and have, proven to be life-saving advancements for thousands of patients across the country each year.
Author Bio:
PatrickWhalen is a writer who
specializes in SEO. He had written for numerous web sites. Follow him at @2patwhalen.
