The average world life expectancy has gone up from 64.6 years in 1985 to 70 years in 2015. This growth has been significant due to the improvement in the life expectancy of the second world and third world countries, namely Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Infant mortality rates have improved across the globe while sanitation and awareness about several diseases have made prevention easier and widespread. Hospital infrastructure has improved in quality and medical practitioners have gone up in strength and skill.
This significant development for the society has been enabled by a lot of factors, including increased social responsibility by corporates and individuals as well as technological developments in healthcare. These together have been the cause for improvement in the worldwide health scene as well as the overall improvement of life expectancy and health services available to people across the world.
India is no exception to this trend of rising healthcare and technological developments. Reports suggest that India’s healthcare industry is likely to reach $1.45 billion by the end of 2019. DocPrime is the newest healthcare startup to join the bandwagon and is dedicated towards providing healthcare services that are bound to the change the face of the healthcare industry.
Here are some technological advancements that have changed everyday life around us, and have enabled the global healthcare scene to grow and change immensely in the last ten years.
The contribution of improved technology and artificial intelligence have reached various fields and the medical sector is no different. Electronic record-keeping is not only easy but also convenient, and in the long run, it makes healthcare extremely simple.
Electronic records enable the extensive history of a patient to be stored safely and accessed easily whenever needed. This makes it easy to look at records while diagnosing, testing or treating a patient for a disease or disorder.
Moreover, this has significantly reduced the amount of laborious work that had to be done manually ten years ago, making manpower available for more specialized tasks which require active human attention.
2. Telemedicine and mHealth Services
With the emergence of medical assistance that is available at the touch of a finger, the connectivity of doctors to patients in the world has improved significantly.
Telemedicine works in different ways, all of which make it easier to access medical assistance. Information about drugs, medical procedures, symptoms, and warnings are all available online and people can access them from anywhere, instead of blindly trusting a stranger lacking the requisite information.
Moreover, consultations are easier now as the platforms allow the patients to book appointments, seek help online, look at a practitioner’s reviews online, and more.
In the recent times, apps have been developed which remind one to drink water, keep track of menstrual cycles, act as virtual nurses, suggest easy home remedies, and more.
3. Self-serving systems
Several medical institutions are utilizing the development of portals which make it easy for the patients to help themselves. While information is available online, its quality and reliability are assured by having experts look at them and ensure that they are accurate.
With a principled approach like this, patients can self-medicate where it is easy and advisable; while the more complicated scenes are also sketched out where patients should seek assistance from a professional.
The bigger picture is that this helps the cost of expenditure of the common person to reduce, since hospital bills and doctor fees are usually exorbitant in most parts of the world. Further, this enables quick treatment and easy first aid which can buy one more time before they can approach a professional.
By signing up on platforms and booking their own appointments, patients also feel engaged and responsible which adds to their wholesome experience in the sector of healthcare services.
4. Wearable tracking devices
Smartphones started the trend of tracking one’s health and fitness regime, but fitness gears such as wristbands and monitoring devices took this trend onto another level. Artificial Intelligence of wearable devices allows users to keep track of how many steps they take in a day, how much they walk, and how much physical activity they engage in throughout the day.
Moreover, these fitness bands also keep track of the patient’s heartbeat and their blood pressure thus making the process of monitoring the health conditions of the patients much easier.
When used alongside other pieces of technology which tracks the blood glucose level, hemoglobin levels, and other bodily functions, these devices contribute significantly in maintaining one’s health. This, in turn, means fewer visits to the doctor since people are actively engaged in their fitness and health maintenance.
5. Genome Sequencing or Pharmacogenomics
Pharmacogenomics is the branch of genome study that attempts to trace and predict individual responses to a drug. This enables prescriptions to be more specialized and specific so that the drug can affect patients better and help them improve faster.
Recently the field has received attention, and genetic testing is able to identify specific strains in the genes and DNA of individual patients so that diagnosis, tests, and prescriptions can be tailor-made for them since their doctors are able to better understand the mechanics of their body.
While this has not been implemented in the extreme, since it is still difficult and expensive, data analysis and aggregation are utilizing this technology as well as they can and improving health assistance services across the world.
While there have been endless improvements, modifications, and innovations in specific fields and niches, these are some that are visible to us on an everyday basis, and the common man experiences them every once in a while.
There has been the development of robots for precision surgery, refinement of LASER technologies, and more in the last decade which has improved the quality of health care that is available to people.
However, the cause has been championed by governments of the world as well as NGOs working locally and internationally, which have imbibed the spirit of wholesome growth and practiced the guidelines of UN and experts on how to improve the quality of life while providing better amenities to people.