The year 2020 will always remain in the world’s history, not for excellent reasons, but for a colossal pandemic that took many, many lives. It was a challenging year for every other sector, but health above all had the biggest challenge. Economies were paralyzed and investors were concerned about their investments such as the PFE dividend.
Many people in different states and countries having to stay on lock-downs. Looking back, the world almost came to a standstill. It is through the help of dedicated health workers, researchers, and technology that people can smile. Finally, the vaccine is here, and in a matter of time, things will start getting back to normalcy.
For once in a long while, the health stock market dropped at alarming rates. This was evident when some companies who were doing better in terms of dividend payments took a turn getting minimal positive yields or even making losses. The vaccine has, however, given hope to most companies.
How has Technology Helped the Healthcare Industry in the Past Year?
1. Electronic Health Records
Was it not for the evolution of electronic health records; the world would have been a total mess during the COVID-19 pandemic worst days? It was already difficult for hospitals to handle patient’s data manually or using simple computer applications. Hospital staff would take a long time to find a patient’s medical history for better diagnosis and treatment. That is all in the past now. Using the EHRs, a hospital can find the patient’s history in a fraction of a second. This has dramatically helped in the testing, diagnosing, treatment, and contact tracing of COVID-19 patients.
2. TeleHealth
It was during the pandemic when people realized the actual value of telehealth. In lockdowns, people are expected to remain in their homes at all costs, not unless it was vital to leave. Even then, people still needed felt ill and needed a doctor’s attention. What would have happened if there was no telehealth? Telemedicine involves a phone call or even a video call to a doctor to get a diagnosis and possible treatment for their ailment. Drugs are later purchased from an online store and can be delivered right to your doorstep.
3. Remote Monitoring Tools
Some people have to seek medical care every once in a while. This is mainly for people living with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure. Technology has allowed them to monitor their health at home and ask for professional help when need be. For example, a patient with high blood pressure can use a blood monitor pressure at home and contact a doctor when the monitor gives higher than regular readings. That has helped prevent the patients from contracting the virus as they move from one place to another seeking medical attention.
4. Health Software Systems
Technology has led to the development of software used in the health sector to rely on vital information. For example, the World Health Organization gives daily updates on the COVID-19 infections, the deaths, recoveries in each continent, state, and country. It also gets the opportunity to educate people by giving them information on various diseases, causes, symptoms, and possible treatments. Through technology, there are wearable devices that monitor the health of the wearer. The same information is sent to a medical doctor who assesses the situation and gives a diagnosis.
5. Improved Care and Efficiency
Technology has helped health practitioners serve patients with a lot of care and with more efficiency. This is so because technology makes work easier and fast. Once a nurse would take ten minutes to look for a patient’s bio-data; now it takes a minute or two to do the same. There are no longer long queues in the hospitals since patients can book appointments from their homes’ comfort. The development of technology in healthcare has brought impressive transparency, which most patients are happy with.
In a nutshell, the evolution of technology has brought so many benefits to the healthcare sector. It is through it that considerable advances in the medical field have been made. Today, health practitioners can stop deaths due to predictable reasons, suppress aging, and manufacture better pharmaceuticals. Since technology grows every other day, we can only look forward to better healthcare services and more readiness for pandemics that may strike.
