Innovative Technologies Revolutionizing Public Health Access

Healthcare is one of the most basic necessities of human life around the world.

Things like a lack of good infrastructure, a shortage of professionals, accessibility, etc. can cause the quality and accessibility of healthcare in a country to decline.

Did you know that about one in ten Americans cannot get proper health care because they do not have health insurance?

This means that these people have no choice but to forgo medical treatments because they cannot afford the proper medical services or treatments they might need. 

And price is not the only issue here, many people, often in the countryside or villages, live too far away from any proper medical facilities.

This means they cannot even get treatment for the common cold, which we city folks take for granted.

But thanks to technological innovations today, most of these issues can be solved.

In this blog post, we will take a deep look into the innovative technologies that are revolutionizing public health access throughout the world.

Key Technologies Transforming Public Health

Today, in the 21st century, we are seeing new technologies and innovations coming up every day.

These new technological marvels are designed to make our lives easier and more productive than ever before and you can clearly see the impact they have on our lives.

The same can be said about the healthcare system too.

With modern advancements in health and medicine, healthcare facilities have become more accessible and the quality of care has improved too.

Here are some of the key techs that are changing the public health system everywhere.

Mobile hospitals and clinics are pretty much just hospitals on wheels.

They are basically decked-out ambulances that can deliver a higher degree of care to patients as compared to a regular old ambulance.

This means that people, even in the remotest corners, can have proper access to quality medical care.

For example, the WHO uses mobile hospitals to send medical teams and doctors to the remotest places where setting up a clinic can be hard.

Today, pretty much everybody has a smartphone in their hands.

And this means that telehealth and remote services are now possible, thanks to technology.

This means that people who are too sick to move or do not have transportation or time can get connected to a doctor and receive treatments.

Just simply make a call (video or phone call) and get into direct consultation with your doctor.

DID YOU KNOW?
More than 85% of American Physicians now use a smartphone to provide telemedicine services to their patients.

This is a slightly more advanced version of telemedicine.

You do not need to know the phone number of your doctor for this one.

Just install an app on your smartphone and describe your symptoms and the app will automatically get you connected with the best doctor who can treat your symptoms.

For example, if your ear hurts, describe your symptoms to the app and it will connect you with an ENT specialist.

EHRs or electronic medical documentation are ways for medical professionals or institutions to store and access your medical records and history digitally.

This allows your doctors to check on any of your past ailments, see all your tests, and share their diagnoses easily.

This means that you get better health care treatment.

And even if you decide to move to the other side of the country, your doctor can easily share your records with a doctor at your new place.

Wearables have a thing these days and their application in medical tech is pretty awesome.

These small gadgets can keep track of many of your biometric data like blood pressure, SPO2 levels, heart rate, etc.

And, if some anomaly does occur, these gadgets can easily alert emergency healthcare professionals with real-time data.

You know, with wearables and other tech creating so much data, it can become hard for any one person to keep track of everything.

But with the advanced analysis and learning capabilities of artificial intelligence, scanning through terabytes of data can be done in just a couple of seconds.

But keeping records is not all that AI is capable of.

With big data analytics, AI can do a ton of miraculous things. 

Here are some things it can do with data.

With AI learning from large data sets, it can pretty accurately make preliminary diagnoses based on symptoms and even identify some diseases before they even happen.

With advanced analytical powers, AI can easily take into account all the symptoms and reports and come up with a diagnosis that is based on data and facts.

This helps artificial intelligence make some pretty accurate diagnoses that even doctors with decades of experience can miss.

We all know just how amazing AI is analytically.

It can also be used to test new theories and combinations of drugs and create simulations to check if that drug is effective against any disease or not.

The Future of Public Health with Technology

• Genomics Technology: The latest biotechnological advancements have enabled us to splice into the genes of humans, This means that with this tech, we can tailor custom medication that will be more effective in curing each patient at a genetic level. 
• Robotics: With the rise of AI and ML, robotics can be used to provide a much better healthcare experience to patients than ever before. They can even be used in surgeries to achieve the impossible.
• 3D Bioprinting: Hey, today it has even become possible to not only create custom drugs, but we can even use tissues to replicate human organs. This can help patients receive transplants that are made from their own DNA and the chance of rejection can be reduced.

Challenges and Considerations

While technological advancements have made healthcare more accessible, it can be misused just as easily.

For example, digital medical records are vulnerable to hacking and hackers can gain access to personal data. 

Similarly, while AI can be used to create new drugs and diagnoses, false data can make it create poisons that would destroy the masses.

We need to create certain policies and regulations in place so that these technologies that were meant to save lives cannot be used for any harm.

The Digital Health market worldwide is expected to reach a projected revenue of US$193.70bn by 2024. It is also expected to exhibit an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 9.16%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$275.00bn by 2028.

Concluding Thoughts 

In the last couple of decades, technology has come a long way and so has medical technology.

With the latest innovation, it is not possible to create a more accessible healthcare system that will bring medical services to even people stuck in remote places.

And while these innovations can be very beneficial in making health care accessible and easier, some of them can be used to cause harm.

We need regulations and security measures in place to make any misuse of these technologies impossible.