My top five tech predictions for healthcare
Written by Brendan Mahony, chief information officer
1. Accessing healthcare via apps
Over two-thirds of people in the UK use smartphones and tablets to access the internet. We’ve already seen how North Mid is harnessing the power of handheld devices to deliver patient care, so the next logical step is to use apps to communicate with patients more widely.
2. At home or portable diagnostics
More diagnostic devices are now available to use at home. In the past, many were too expensive or not potable enough and could only be accessed in hospital – but that’s changing.
3. Smart or implantable drug delivery mechanisms
Sensors can now be added to pills to allow patients and their doctors to monitor whether medication is being taken as recommended.
4. Digital therapeutics
Digital therapeutics are treatments or therapies delivered through a smartphone, tablet or laptop. They often combine medical information on a health condition with advice for dealing with it.
5. Machine learning
New techniques that use computers to complete tasks like image recognition and predicting illness from big, messy datasets have shown promise recently. Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to learn to complete these tasks without being explicitly programmed.
This first featured in the centenary edition of True North, take a look and share your thoughts below.
