Within the framework of World Health Month, the World Health Organization made a list of the main challenges that the health sector will face during this decade, within which the positive use of new technologies stands out. In this sense, it is important to highlight the weight of trends that emerged as a result of social distancing due to the pandemic, but that continue today and have become part of our routine.
“The modernization of the health sector implies a great positive impact, not only for patients, but for all healthcare personnel. However, the implementation of technology also brings with it new questions and challenges that must be worked on together with the sector”, indicates Andrés Ávila, Marketing Manager for the health sector of Zebra Technologies in Latin America. The company pointed out in its study on the future of health care that there is an increased demand for services and that hospitals are turning to technology and automation to reduce the burden on a system that daily faces myriad challenges. Thus, both remote monitoring of patients and telemedicine became two technological trends that have transformed the health sector, positively impacting the quality of patient care and reducing costs related to medical care.
Virtual care as a new priority
The rise of telemedicine during the pandemic has confirmed that virtual care can still be of quality. Additionally, this new modality has increased the convenience and comfort of care for patients everywhere. People no longer have to go to the hospital for every appointment or worry regarding long wait or commute times: they just need to be by the phone or computer for their scheduled appointment, which can be much shorter and more concise than when they go to the hospital.
Although most people think of telemedicine as a provider consulting with a patient at home, an increase in inpatient supervision through this modality is also expected throughout this year. In both scenarios, the use of telemedicine will drive further sophistication of the use case, combining asynchronous video communications and monitoring and even artificial intelligence applications.
Widespread use of mobile devices in hospital management
According to Zebra experts, 70% of medical errors can be attributed to communication breakdowns. For this reason, 9 out of 10 decision-makers in hospitals will increase spending on clinical mobility, expanding the use of mobile devices with the aim of achieving real-time visibility of information, verifying data, generating clearer communications and increasing the workforce productivity.
Similarly, this sector will invest more in communication tools for patient care teams, as well as mobile alert systems, which will be easier to deploy, manage and use with enterprise-grade clinical smartphones, which have features focused on patient data security and privacy and offer remote management capabilities .
Optimize operations
Faced with a shortage of medical supplies and equipment, healthcare workers face a new challenge: gaining more control over patients and the supplies they use on a daily basis. For this reason, hospitals are adopting remote monitoring systems such as radio frequency identification, Bluetooth and also mobile computing, in order to automatically track the real-time geographic location of everything; from equipment, supplies and drugs to patients and staff. These same solutions will also help healthcare providers improve asset utilization and improve infection control tracking, increasing staff operational efficiency by up to 97%. Nurses walk approximately 8 kilometers per day in a 12-hour shift, so having access to their patients’ data and information at any time is important so that they can offer the best care possible. With handheld devices, medical staff can review orders, patient history, dispensed medications, among many other data.
Patients are becoming active participants in their health care
To offer better care, hospitals must take into account the habits of patients, who live connected to a smartphone and, therefore, seek this same technology to be present in their medical care. 77% of patients have a positive opinion regarding the use of mobile technology within hospitals. Likewise, it generates a positive image in care, since 95% of patients are willing to share information with medical personnel if they have mobile devices in their hands.
The adoption of technology by society is driving the digitization of hospital services and along with this a new concern arises, the protection and security of patient data. Currently, only 65% of hospitals have a mobile device policy, and 53% define specific data and authentication requirements. However, 42% of hospitals plan to implement the use of mobile computers with which they can encrypt data and have the option of remote wipe to offer greater security to patients regarding the use of their information.
Technological applications can now be considered in terms of efficiency, security, privacy and ease of use, as the best way to improve medical care, thus transforming the quality of patient care. The pandemic put on the table the modernization needs of the health sector and, fortunately, it not only reacted with agility to the health crisis, but also exposed a more favorable future for the health of patients and workers with the support of technology. now that the waters are calmer.
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