Digital Health Trends - Dr Lachlan Soper

Innovative technology has changed our lives and improved our day-to-day. As industries embrace and adapt to new technologies, they’re finding ways to improve customer service, communication, and even employee satisfaction. The healthcare industry is truly embracing technology and seeing the advantages of digital trends. It is reshaping how patients interact with health professionals, data is shared more easily among providers, and it is changing treatment plan decisions as well as health outcomes.

Records in the Cloud

Thanks to tech advancements, over the years more and more medical records are moved into cloud storage. This type of cloud infrastructure is key to having easy access between disparate systems. Healthcare organisations using the cloud for storage understand that it is the best way to hold large amounts of medical data that accumulates every day. It’s also an easy way to share information, images, and records across different healthcare providers and organisations. If executed correctly, cloud storage can improve patient care, everyday workflow solutions for physicians, and ensure records remain private and secure.

Resources such as My Health Record offer an online summary of a patient’s key health information. This information can be securely viewed online by the patient or medical professional and gives healthcare providers access to important health data such as allergies, medication, past and present medical conditions, blood tests, and more.

Wearable Devices

Tracking your health in real-time has been made possible thanks to innovative wearable devices. Many people are familiar with devices such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and heart monitors that pair to personal devices. These wearables are now more often being paired with Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) platforms that can send data to their doctor. In the future, we can expect to see wearables playing a major role in healthcare and digital health. These devices can help patients in recovery or assist those with chronic issues. The data that is collected from wearables can help healthcare providers, medical professionals, and patients transform healthcare.

Virtual Reality

What was once thought of as futuristic recreational technology is now a breakthrough in the healthcare industry. Wearing a Virtual Reality (VR) headset is an immersive experience and is now used by educational institutions to train future doctors. VR is also being used for surgeons to test techniques to prepare for intricate surgeries. What’s more, experienced physicians have used it as a way to practice new procedures and perfect ones they’ve done in the past. There could be even more VR advances in 2021.

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