Health
The medical technology of the 21st century has changed nearly everything about how health care is provided. From keeping track of a patient's medications and medical history to providing a rapid diagnosis, technology affects every aspect of healthcare services.
Consider these top four ways in which med tech is changing the healthcare industry.
Automated Laboratory Testing
While laboratory tests to check blood cell counts, hormone levels and antibodies used to take days to perform, today's medical technology has automated these once labor-intensive tasks. Automation now allows these tests to be performed in mere hours or even minutes. If a patient is facing a life-threatening situation, these fast results can provide critical information to physicians.Related articles
Electronic Medical Records
In this digital age, electronic medical records have brought considerable change to the healthcare industry. When you go to a networked provider, your entire record can be accessed. This allows your endocrinologist, family doctor, and other healthcare professionals to see your overall health picture. Electronic medical records can also be used during an emergency situation, allowing emergency medical technicians and emergency room physicians to access your allergy and blood type information.
X-ray Technology
X-ray technology has come a long way since the bulky machines and individual films of decades past. Today's X-ray technology is digital, which means that radiologists can see the images almost instantaneously. Professionals, like those at Rural Health Services Consortium Inc., know how helpful this can be in making a diagnosis. Images can also be sent to multiple providers at once, such as infectious disease and orthopedic specialists. This allows for a rapid diagnosis of injuries such as bone fractures and illnesses such as pneumonia. Today's X-ray technology is safe and comfortable for the patient.Telemedicine
Telemedicine is another innovative way that technology is used in healthcare. With telemedicine a person at a small hospital in a rural location can be evaluated by specialists hundreds of miles away at a trauma center. Telemedicine allows for the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening conditions such as stroke. Telemedicine can also be used for triage, allowing for the efficient delivery of patients to the most appropriate type of trauma or emergency care facility.
Medical technology changes the healthcare experience for patients, doctors and administrators alike. Enhanced efficiency, greater productivity and improved safety are all benefits of today's medical technology in the healthcare industry. As technology continues to advance, healthcare consumers and providers can expect to enjoy a boost in accuracy of diagnosis, personalized treatment plans and more options for receiving healthcare at rural and out-of-the-way facilities.
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