Be it personal or professional domains of our life, we are gradually moving away from conventional practices. For example, you would barely catch people these days physically bothering themselves for shopping. It is because they have the facility of online purchasing. Gone are the days when students had to travel for hours to attend a single lecture. Today, they can tune into an online portal and join classes on the go.
However, embracing digitization was a painfully difficult task for some sectors out there. Healthcare is undoubtedly one of them. The primary reason behind this is that wholeheartedly relying on software could invite potential dangers for patients. A single glitch might account for a devastating effect on peoples’ health. But the latest technological trends have managed to win both patients’ and doctors’ trust, owing to their impeccable accuracy.
Here are some of the hot healthcare trends that are likely to loom around 2021:
- Health applications
Taking medicines on time is one of the most fundamental practices to improve health. But nearly 50 percent of patients do not abide by that rule. They miss out on taking medicines at least once a month. This regularity is more common among patients who suffer from multiple diseases simultaneously. That is where health applications roll into action.
You have to insert the prescribed timings of medicines, and the app will send you reminders at the respective hours. Most of the patients fail to keep a record of medications. Resultantly, they find themselves out of stock abruptly. Guess what? You may use the same apps to send you notifications when the dose is about to end.
Health apps have been continuously evolving. Lately, they have also started to offer the following features:
- Real-time communication: In case of an emergency or routine consultation, one no longer needs to rush to the clinic. You can have a session with the doctor from your home’s comfort. The applications ward off the geographical barrier; the patient can book an appointment with any medical expert across the globe.
- Symptoms checker: When it comes to health, sometimes people exaggerate the problem and immediately connect with a doctor. It accounts for the unnecessary loss of time and money. Health apps embed a symptoms checker to help you get an idea about your medical condition. What is more, being well-versed in the medical condition will enable you to seek the right person for advice. Broadly put, you would have a clear idea of whether you need to approach someone with a terminal degree in nursing or an MBBS doctor.
- Online payment: Similar to other industries, health apps offer the option of online payment. It saves time and cuts a lot of manual effort.
- Predictive analytics
In the past, hospitals had to rely on handwritten records. It was an excruciating and time-consuming exercise. Worse yet, traditional recordkeeping made it difficult for doctors to dig up the medical history of patients. Luckily, with the inception of digital data storage sources, it has become very convenient to preserve information.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) ‘ most significant advantage is that doctors can now anticipate physical patterns and predict potential diseases. That way, they can take measures in advance and ensure quality services. Coronavirus is the tell-tale example of superior predictive analysis.
Doctors maintained a detailed record of positive coronavirus cases and subsequently compared the models of different age groups. Suppose the digital means of data collection were not available. In that case, predictive analysis related to the ongoing pandemic could not have been so spot-on.
- Wearable gadgets
Access to healthcare facilities is hands down the most significant challenge faced by medical experts. While giving you a better picture, nearly half of the world’s population gets deprived of primary healthcare services. Well, wearable gadgets are putting up an intense fight to combat this nuisance.
By wearing these devices, patients can send health insights to health providers’ dashboard and receive guidance. Seasoned medical professionals reckon that instead of erecting expensive infrastructure in remote or financially downtrodden parts of the world, wearable gadgets could emerge as a better solution.
While considering the growing threat of pandemics in the future, wearable gadgets could also mark an uptick in the developed countries to burden the hospitals.
- 3D printing
3D printing is the latest buzzword. The technology became an instant hit as soon as it popped up on the scene and continues to gain more traction as time goes by. Statistically speaking, the 3D printing industry is forecasted to cross a lucrative 63.46 billion dollars threshold by 2025.
Currently, the healthcare sector is under an overwhelming strain. 3D printing is already helping to meet our medical requirements. And it promises more revolution in the coming years. 2021 will set the tone for the broad-scale implication and acceptance of the technology.
The final verdict
The Healthcare industry has been somewhat slow to adopt cutting-edge technology. But after bearing the burns of the pandemic, it is now inevitable to incorporate the newest inventions. While many technological trends are likely to become famous later this year, the ones mentioned above will dominate 2021.