No doubt technology has made an incredible impact on the healthcare sector. In the past, virtually every activity carried out in the healthcare sector was done via an analogue process. For instance, these days you can buy your pharmaceutical supply from online pharmacy. This is a far cry from what was obtainable in the early ’80s and ’90s. Dispensing quality healthcare is faster and more efficient. Nonetheless, some experts in the industry feel otherwise about integrating technology into every aspect of healthcare. Just the same way they are two sides to a coin, the argument about the impact of technology on healthcare is also two-sided. Firstly, let’s take a look at the impact technology has made in the healthcare sector so far.

Online pharmacy and pharmaceutical products

Who would have thought that pharmaceutical products can be sold online? In fact, initially, a lot of people in the healthcare sector were not in support of selling drugs online.

However, all that has changed with effective monitoring and various regulations that have been put in place. For instance, with the introduction of AI algorithms and other modern technology, online pharmacy is wearing a new leave. Some of the advantages of online pharmacies versus local ones are:

• Opened 24/7
• No need to rush during business hours
• no waiting in long lines
• Refillls can be sended automatically

Sometime in 2015, a startup technology company used supercomputers to search the database for safe medicines for the treatment of Ebola. Two drugs were discovered to be very safe in treating Ebola. If this technology comes into operation, physicians may not waste too much time looking for medications for their patients. The patient’s data can be sent to an online pharmacy and drugs suitable for the treatment of the patient will be prescribed.

Enhanced communication and diagnosis

Do you remember watching movies like Scrub where the healthcare workers had to beeper to communicate? Staying in touch with colleagues and patients has rapidly improved. With the introduction of smartphones and social media, patients and healthcare workers can interact on the go.

For instance, the desire of most healthcare professionals to have an omnipotent device has come to pass. Initially, it only materialized on the screen. For instance, in Star Trek, Dr McCoy used his tricorder device to scan a patient and the device immediately disclosed the vital signs and diagnosis. The device used by Dr McCoy was a figment of sci-fi euthsaits but such a device is available for physicians today. Nowadays a physician can use a simple small device to measure your ECG, heart rate, oxygen and so on. As a matter of fact, there are so many devices with even more features. However, not all the devices have the high tech quality of the tricorder used by Dr McCoy in Star Trek. With recent innovations, it is obvious that such technologies will be available soon.

Health apps and online education

Since 2015, the numbers of health apps are more than one million worldwide. This is just a fraction of what is known. These apps have enlightened patients and healthcare workers too.

Within a twinkle of an eye, a healthcare worker can use a health app to refresh his memory about the vital signs of disease. Consequently, these innovations have made delivering quality treatment faster and effortless. A physician can rely on these apps for urgent information. Some of the most popular health apps are: In most cases, patients don’t have to visit the hospitals so often because, with the apps, they can evaluate the signs and symptoms they are experiencing. Similarly, some health apps allow patients to access their test results online. Some apps also prompt the patient about their scheduled check-up. If you want to pursue a degree in healthcare, you can get it online. It seemed very unlikely in the past. However, these days they are several colleges offering degrees in the healthcare sector online. Certainly, this trend has not been adopted worldwide but with the current technological innovations, it would become an acceptable norm.

Wrapping up

Technology has transformed the healthcare industry. More innovations are expected in the nearest future. However, not everyone is pleased with some of these growing trends. The fear of most physicians is the incursion of non-experts into the healthcare sector. This is already happening especially with online pharmacies in many countries like France, UK, Germany, and Sweden. It is very important to recognize reliable online pharmacies if not there is always a pharmacy guide like this one here. Fake and untrained sites are creeping into the scene daily. The only solution remains to monitor the operation of the online pharmacy industry. Besides, the rising concern of technology taking over the job of a doctor is also feasible. This has happened in other sectors such as car manufacturing, photography, and so on. However, healthcare is a different ball game. No matter the introduction of technology into the healthcare industry, a human interface cannot be ruled out completely. Finally, technology has made a remarkable impact in the healthcare sector. Effective regulation and monitoring remain of the sector is the only way forward.