The earth will be home to nearly 9.8 billion people by 2050 according to a UN report. Shocking? Not exactly because the upward trend in population size is only expected to continue.
Around $7 trillion+ was the cost for health and social programs worldwide a few years back and $585 billion was wasted on error-prone and inefficiently delivered services. Shocked? Definitely. So if we put our brains to imagine how the existing mHealth mobile app development services are going to cope with providing affordable and quality healthcare for nearly 9.8 billion people by 2050, we are left with a blank. Technology will come to the sector’s rescue here, especially in terms of “ensuring inclusive access to care” for the world population.
While, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Healthcare trackers, wearables and sensors, Medical Tricorder, Genome Sequencing, Nanotechnology, Robotics, and 3D Printing is there to save the diagnostics, the delivery of healthcare services dependent on the already stressed healthcare resources are going to thrive on the following technologies:
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence Solutions have the potential to transform the healthcare landscape completely. AI algorithms are capable of mining medical records, design treatment plans or create drugs way faster than any current factor in the healthcare sector. There are supercomputers that root out therapies from a database of molecular structures. As hospitals update their tools and processes for the digital age, AI presents an opportunity for humanity to widen their horizons if it is implemented early.
The ability of global health watchdogs to detect diseases, viruses and the R&D for medications will multiply manifold with early utilization of AI. The emergence of AI Chatbots that tap into natural language processing, knowledge management, and sentiment analysis capabilities are being touted as money-savers the hospitals need in the area of customer service.
2. Internet of Things for Healthcare
This technology shall bring about the following:
The ability to manage virtually any number of medical/healthcare devices
Automation of device-to-analytics data flow
Facilitation of remote monitoring of patient’s health statistics
Streamline hospital’s asset management
Allow remote configuration and tuning of medical devices
Availability of data analytics applications for clinicians and patients
Predictive device maintenance and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant data security
Certain mHealth mobile app development companies have also created open-source IoT platforms which allow original equipment manufacturers and healthcare system integrators to establish cross-device connectivity for implementing smart features into medical devices and related software systems.
3. Blockchain Technology
In generic terms, Blockchain is a distributed system which records and stores transaction Records.
Blockchain Development Services can be used in healthcare for Drug Traceability where each transaction between the manufacturers and wholesalers, pharmacists, etc. can be tracked. For Improvement and authentication of health records, smart contracts, clinical trials, precision medicine, genomics research, for EHRs through Immutability via File Integrity, Cybersecurity via Data Access Management and Interoperability via Collaborative Version Control.
4. Machine Learning
Machine learning is basically the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed. As researched and anticipated, advancements in Machine Learning Solutions are going to impact both patient care and patient outcomes in the coming years. Machine learning algorithms (deep learning algorithms) are going to be increasingly used to improve diagnosis and care plans which will be a lot more accurate than a human doctor and will yield much better results.
For example, Google has used machine learning to develop a tool that detects breast cancer better than human pathologists; and a recent article from The Journal of The American Medical Association described the success of using machine learning to detect diabetic retinopathy in retinal photographs.
5. Robotics
One of the fastest growing fields of healthcare is robotics, it allows doctors to perform complex surgeries that might be otherwise impossible. Robotics developments range from companion robots, surgical robots, disinfectant robots or exoskeletons. With the help of these Robots, doctors can cure spinal cord injury, rehabilitation of stroke and paralyzed people.
Few robot companions such as Jibo, Pepper, Paro, and Buddy can serve as a social partner in order to deal with loneliness or treat mental health issues. Some of them even contain touch sensors, microphones, and cameras. Thus their owners can ask them to play their favorite songs, movie, interact with them or even remind them about their medications.
Summing Up
Cooperation between people and technology could result in amazing achievements in medicine and healthcare. Unsustainable healthcare systems can be transformed into sustainable ones with the capabilities of digital technology which will also lead to an equal relationship between healthcare professionals and patients.
The above-discussed technologies are being researched, developed and invested in to ensure that people are healthier and can access cheaper, faster and efficient care they need, to realize their life goals and potential. These technologies are putting individuals at the center of healthcare systems and are about to change the future of healthcare dramatically.
留言