2015 is an exciting time for technology, and we are fortunate enough to live in just the dawn of this era. Tech trends are transforming how we all live our lives, healthcare included. Here are 10 major trends to look out for in with regards to the health industry:
Tech Unlocks Business Opportunities
Whether you’re an employer or employee, innovation and technological advances create countless business opportunities. In the field of medicine, using technology can unlock solutions for people who need it most. There will be potentially lower costs for healthcare, while simultaneously providing jobs to people as well as finding ways of more efficiently handling things in all aspects of the industry.
Smartphones and Wearable Gadgets Empower People
Both patients and the caregivers (doctors, nurses, and other industry experts) can benefit. It’s been said that today is a very health-conscious era, and the age of wellness has only just begun. Personal monitoring tools on our smartphones can help track things like sleep patterns, fitness activities, blood pressure, weight, caloric intake, and many more.
Collected Data Helps Problems, Reveals Patterns, and Opens Healthcare Opportunities
Again, in the age of smartphones (there’s always an app for anything) doctors and researchers can better understand illnesses and get the proper treatments to the right patients. Together, healthcare workers can identify unknown diseases and outbreaks, and even possibly eliminate pandemics.
Cloud Computing Is the Future
Once experts collect the data from these apps, it’s never safe to assume that such information is safe. Cloud computing allows all these pieces of information to be saved and retrieved from wherever – patients have access to their information and doctors are able to get such information as needed. A patient’s medical history will be more complete than ever, and would even help streamline billing for clinics and hospitals.
Security Risks are Taken More Seriously and Hopefully Lessened
The Identity Theft Resource Center cited that 44% – nearly half – of all reported data breaches back in 2013 targeted medical companies. A phrase goes, “with great power comes great responsibility” – it was true for the movies, and it’s true in real life too. Technology is a huge responsibility, and there will always be people who will take advantage of its powers. However, there will always be two sides to a story – security risks in the medical world exist, but technology will help alleviate such issues.
These are just five of the major ways technology can help improve the healthcare industry here and around the world – five more will be revealed in part 2.