The term “mobile health,” or “mHealth”, for short, describes the growing trend of using portable electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, wearables, and other mobile gadgets to enhance healthcare delivery in a variety of ways.
Providing doctors with up-to-date medical literature, research, and educational resources is another vital part of mobile health. Healthcare technology includes medical equipment, software, and services.
The other side is fitness trackers and other wearable tech designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle and keep tabs on workout regimens, even of those individuals who just as well enjoy playing online casino slots real money games from the comfort of their homes.
These two areas have just begun to intersect and share information to forge a unified future for mobile health. Here is a look at some of the most significant effects of mobile technology.
- Mobile Technology Improves Response Times
Thanks to advancements in mobile technology, doctors and specialists can now easily stay in touch from afar. This is crucial in times of crisis, like at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in emergency circumstances, the monitoring of chronic illnesses, home rehabilitation from surgery, and other similar scenarios.
As a matter of fact, video conferencing was crucial during the COVID-19 lockdowns began, as it allowed doctors to give diagnoses, counseling, and interactive services digitally, hence minimizing the influx of patients into the already-strapped hospitals.
When both the patient and the doctor don’t need to be online at the same time, telemedicine can function as an asynchronous form of communication.
Another significant effect of digital technology on the healthcare sector is the increased speed, individualization, and precision of communication. Many healthcare IT companies aim to increase positive patient feedback and facilitate better communication between healthcare facilities, patients, and third parties.
Improved communication between clinics and laboratories is another crucial facet of this effect. This allows for instantaneous access to laboratory reports and test results by medical staff. It’s far simpler to quickly alter treatment based on lab results and have an open conversation about it with a patient.
- Medical Apps and Monitoring of Medication Regimen
Here, gadgets and apps for smartphones and tablets come in quite handy. Patients can use these apps to remind themselves to take their medication, schedule follow-up appointments with their specialists, refill their prescriptions, or adapt to new guidelines in relation to their treatment.
This is a crucial function of mobile health apps since it empowers patients to participate in their treatment actively and increases the likelihood that they will really do so. Caretakers and loved ones of patients with mental health issues might also greatly benefit from these additions when everyone is on the same page about what has to be done and when mistakes are much less likely to occur.
On the other hand, doctors can utilize the app’s notifications to check in with patients on a regular basis, monitor their progress throughout recovery, or monitor those with chronic diseases. Electronic health records (EHRs) allow doctors to tailor treatment plans to each individual patient based on their complete medical history. This includes lowering the rate of drug errors and giving patients far more individualized attention.
Top Technologies In M-Health Today
- Machine Learning
Improved diagnostic aid can now be obtained using modern machine learning methods. Watson from IBM, one of the most well-known AI-enabled systems, began testing out their potential in the medical field some years ago.
IBM Watson, for instance, has explored how optimizing cancer treatment might be achieved by applying machine learning to massive amounts of unstructured data such as clinical recommendations, scientific literature, and treatment regimens.
- Mobile Devices (Smartphones)
Over a decade since its invention, the smartphone has evolved to become a central hub for cutting-edge medical diagnostics and treatment options.
Already, you can buy ultrasound machines, electrocardiogram screens, dermoscopes for examining skin malignancies, microscopes, and blood pressure monitors that plug into your smartphone. Now, it is possible for a doctor to better understand an infection’s severity from a picture of the patient’s inner ear or throat taken using a smartphone.
In addition, you don’t even have to leave the house to take care of your health because you can use your smartphone as an ECG machine, a blood test kit, or a thermometer.
Automated reminders can be sent to patients from healthcare workers to have them measure vitals such as blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, and weight, and then enter the data onto mobile patient portals.
To top it all off, they can send the results to your doctor in real time. When entered regularly, those particulars can aid in predicting one’s risk for cardiovascular disease and other ailments, which can save lives. Lastly, smartphones can also be used as powerful data recorders, capturing extensive information about people and their lifestyles.
- Cloud Access
Mobility and cloud access have been a huge step forward in terms of making medical care more accessible to individuals and medical professionals. Cloud-based solutions are quickly becoming vital to a healthier healthcare environment, with applications ranging from those handling appointment management and diagnostics to data exchange.
A high percentage of doctors are currently using smartphones and medical apps, with many regularly consulting their mobile devices for pharmacological information.
Take Away
mHealth has undisputedly had a major influence on the health sector today. As technology becomes more advanced and groundbreaking innovations in the industry continue to launch, you’ll just have to wait for what the next five years will bring.