The Digitalization of Medicine
We see technologies through our own eyes as opposed to other people who might look at them through different lenses.
What is the Digitalization of Medicine? According to recent data, the US healthcare system will spend over $2.7 trillion on healthcare in the next 10 years. And this number is expected to grow at a pace of roughly $1 trillion every year.
We all love to talk about the digital transformation of healthcare but what do we mean by it? This question has been asked many times and I have seen many answers given. At first, I was confused why it was so difficult to define. Then I realized that it may be because we all have our own ways of looking at technology and medicine. And as such, we see technologies through our own eyes as opposed to other people who might look at them through different lenses.
If you want to look at medical devices differently than another person, you’d probably say they are a “smart bandage” or a “smart dressing” or a “smart glove” or something like that. If you want to look at digital health differently than another person, you might say they are a digital health solution (or maybe just a digital solution). If you want to look at digital transformation differently than another person, maybe you think it is about moving from paper-based records or electronic records into electronic-based records or electronic patient records…
And if some people would even call it “smart IT systems” instead of “digital IT systems”, which is clearly not my preferred way of thinking about computing!
This is probably good because it allows us all to speak from our own experience and perceptions of technology and medicine. But then again, it makes understanding other people’s points of view quite difficult, especially when they are not very clear in their own perspectives either!
For example: some people will argue that there are real benefits of the use of biometrics in physical fitness assessments because they can determine fitness level based on the unique attributes (e.g., hand size) of each individual person and thereby allowing us to differentiate between healthy individuals and those with potentially health problems (e.g., obesity). And some other people will argue that biometrics could be used to determine whether someone has been drinking alcohol and preventing them from driving etc…
Challenges of the Healthcare Industry
Healthcare industry is getting more and more decentralized. This makes it harder for the healthcare practitioners to get a clear understanding of their patients’ needs. The main problems in this space are:
- Lack of clarity about the patient’s needs
- Lack of a clear communication channel between practitioners and patients
- Lack of transparency on healthcare costs and charges
- Lack of transparency on insurance coverage
- No way to obtain a clear understanding of healthcare policy changes made by regulators
How to Deal with Technology in the Healthcare Industry
In the healthcare industry, technology is everywhere. The most common technology in the industry is a device, a physical piece of equipment that aids the health professional in some way. The devices are connected to the internet and are used by healthcare professionals in a number of different ways.
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We were inspired to write this article about Digitalization of Medicine after my conversation with Mike Ryan in my YouTube Channel. In that episode, I interviews¡ Mike Ryan, Chairman, Executive Impact Group & Chairman MGR Capital. In this episode, we talked about the Maldistribiution of Healthcare, how to leverage Digital Health globally and Decentralized Healthcare towards being Patient centered. Mike shared amazing insights on why Health Coaching is important to healthcare and digital health.We’ve also discussed how De-Institulionalised Medicine plays a crucial role in Diagnostics, On going treatments and Remote Patient Care.
Watch Episode #55 of Digital Health & Wearables Series
Contact us for more relevant details. To find out more about how we can help you with your Digital Healthcare Transformation, Healthcare organizational growth, or Healthcare brand positioning, please get in touch via phone +44 (0) 203 3620421 or via e-mail: info@digitalsalutem.com
