From Patient Portals to Wearable Monitoring Devices and 5G Networks

According to Healthcare Weekly, telemedicine is usually defined as remote treatment by specialists or primary caregivers. It was developed in order to enable technology to be used to bring medical diagnoses and car to people who reside in remote areas.

Telemedicine involves the use of modern technology and telecommunications enabling doctors to visit their patients in a virtual way no matter their location. This is usually done over live video or images saved for reference on a computer.

Benefits of Telemedicine Solutions

Telemedicine was initially developed for rural areas where healthcare professionals are scarce or are far. Instead of making long trips to specific healthcare facilities for a routine checkup, it now can be done from the comfort of the patients’ home and doctors office. Telemedicine has also brought a couple of more benefits for patients which include:

• Telemedicine is, by nature, faster than getting access to healthcare professionals in person. The huge number of people opting for telemedicine is clearing waiting rooms and hospitals. This means quicker access to healthcare for those who opt for telemedicine and for those who opt for the physical facilities too.

• Telemedicine has also contributed to fewer hospital readmissions and a more faithfully followed prescription courses of treatment.  There has also been a faster recovery realized due to the technological capabilities of the concept.

• Telemedicine has the capability of addressing issues concerning the budget set apart by the US government for healthcare that goes wasted on unnecessary and avoidable costs.

• Telemedicine also has the unique ability to manage chronic illnesses. This is because most patients ailing from chronic diseases require regular check-ins with their doctors. These are directly and positively affected by telemedicine making them less complicated. 

Here we will discuss some of the technologies introduced to healthcare to make it more comfortable in the delivery and reception of services.

Wearable and IoT Devices

Through combining predictive analytics, hardware and mobile applications wearable technologies are slowly redefining disease management, patient diagnostics, and preventive care techniques.

HeartGuide is an example of this new technology. It is a beautiful smartwatch that boasts of an LCD display and Lithium-ion battery that needs to be charged twice per week. This sleek watch can store up to 100 blood pressure readings, sleep quality measurements up to 7 times and physical history for 7 days.

For those who are not fond of the small display have a companion mobile application for both IOS and Android smartphones. The application features a beautiful dashboard that educates you on all your blood-pressure and other health readings. With these readings, it also gives some important heart health improvement recommendations for you.

One development that has taken the health industry by storm is the watches ability to take blood pressure readings during the night. Studies have shown that sharp rises in blood pressure occur mostly during the night and immediately after waking up. This has caused many deaths related to blood pressure conditions.

5G Network and Telecomm Operators

Wearable devices that are 5G enable patients to carry a 5G router that can be connected to several other wearables. The introduction of 5G network to healthcare is mostly for patient’s applications outside hospital grounds giving patients reliable connections to online consultations, precision medicine and monitoring and administration of medication to manage chronic illnesses better.

Patients will benefit from all these healthcare technological tools which mean they will be in a conducive environment with their friends and families. They save on money and at the same time receive urgent care instantaneously.

This guest post comes from JGBilling, one of Chicago’s premiere medical billing companies.