What does the future of healthcare look like?
It takes little imagination to see technology integrated into every step of the process. In fact, we add a bit more to it each day. No matter what capacity you enter the system, whether as a patient or as the head of a large medical practice, eHealth is being implemented as:
Electronic Health Records - enables easy communication between different healthcare professionals
Lifetime Health Records - full aggregation of individual electronic health records capturing population-based tracking to both predict and anticipate future events
Telehealth - includes all types of physical and psychological remote monitoring that does not require a patient to travel to see a specialist
Public Health Education - complex media channels that allow citizens to stay informed on a variety of health and medical related topics
Virtual Healthcare Teams - healthcare professionals who collaborate and share information on patients and events
And of course, this is just a start. We’ll see technology taking over many of the jobs previously held by staff of all levels, from office work to the most experienced surgeons and medical staff. Health 2.0 and Medicine 2.0 is still being interwoven as new technologies are developed every day.
Not only will this make medical staff perform better, but it will also allow patients to take a more active role in their care. This empowers each of us to make more well-informed decisions throughout the process.
Where do we go from here?
Learn
A whirlwind of transition brings both confusion and opportunity. The only way to progress forward is to take it all in stride and learn more every day. Can you imagine going back to paper files or a time without access to the Internet? Yet at one time, that was the norm. Adding a little to your vocabulary every day is the only way to stay informed.
Explore
This isn’t a time to do things as they’ve always been done. This is a time to explore. What systems can help you do more with less? What information exists that will put you in a better light with your patients and your colleagues? What can you learn that will help you for your future?
Secure
Before you jump in with any new technology, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions. How will this impact my business? How will this integrate with everything I already have in place? Will this open my up to more risk? How can I keep my information more secure?
This is a learning process, a journey we’re all making together.
How can we help you?
