Imagine using your smart phone to take an EKG (echocardiogram) in seconds and having that information instantly sent to your doctor to track your cardiac conditions. Sounds futuristic, right? That future is happening right now.
Smart technology for your health, also called health tech, is evolving at a rapid pace. The healthcare industry and tech industry are merging ideas to design wearable devices, mobile devices and apps that can help manage your health. These devices can assist with self-care, preventative care, aid caregivers by monitoring loved ones and also enable doctors to diagnose their patients quickly.
The possibilities are seemingly endless. Health-tech devices, apps and wearables can measure and track vital signs, glucose and insulin levels, heart conditions, asthma, allergies, skin conditions, UV exposure, contractions during pregnancy, sleep patterns, and even tremors in Parkinson’s disease.
Self Care
There are many ways your phone can help you care for yourself. If you are feeling blue, there are mood elevating apps, and even apps where you can speak to a therapist. To care for your mind and body, there are meditation apps, brainteaser apps, fitness tracker and weight loss apps. Here are some examples of self-care apps.
For patients that have difficulty leaving home, there are mobile apps that can directly connect you by video to a board certified doctor. There is even an app to help locate a local restaurant nearby that serves meals to meet your specific dietary needs! food allergy apps
Helping Caregivers
Devices can lend a hand to caregivers by remotely notifying them if a loved one forgets to take their medicine pill drill. Also, wearable devices with GPS capability can help caregivers track a loved one’s safety in case of a fall or wandering away from home watchu.
Timing can be Everything
Health data can be collected in real-time through wearables to track activity levels for patients recovering from an illness or to show if a new treatment plan is effective. Doctors can use medical apps to quickly and effectively share test results and images with other specialists to better treat a patient. In some cases, this information can be captured through the device and sent to the doctor electronically without requiring the patient to come into the office.
Preventative Care
Corporations are starting to use smart-tech wellness programs to promote and support healthy lifestyles of their employees, sometimes offering cash incentives to stay on track. Perhaps this will lead to lower healthcare costs in the future.
For more information, here are some articles with the latest health-tech trends:
https://www.cnet.com/news/self-care-health-medical-wellness-tech-ces-2018/
https://medicalfuturist.com/10-best-health-technology-innovations-ces-2017