Over the years, mobile technology has found several new uses within the medical community for a variety of purposes. But did you know that one of the most effective uses of mobile technology is to reduce the chance of infection? Doctors using telemedicine practices to communicate with patients over a video conference are no longer placed in direct contact with disease, which means they are less likely to get sick and spread infection themselves and are even less likely to take time off for being sick. Additionally, other mobile tech uses have made it so that patients can keep track of their own healthcare without having to contact a professional to stay healthy and fit. Below are some of the past week's top headlines on how modern mobile technology is changing the face of healthcare.
As scary as the recent outbreaks of Ebola may be, modern technology has already proven to be incredibly effective in treating it. Particularly, when Dr. Richard Sacra was brought back home from Africa to care for the Ebola he had contracted, he used Vidyo's video conferencing platform to communicate with the outside world. This helped keep others safe from contracting the deadly disease, and even enabled direct and instant physician-to-physician collaboration to help save his life as soon as possible.
Similarly, Zebra Technology has introduced a new printer designed with patient sterility in mind. The Zebra Gk420TM Healthcare printer is designed to improve patient safety by identifying patients, lab work and prescriptions without mistakes in order to get the right healthcare to the right patient. It is also designed to take the abuse that common medical cleaning agents cause on electronic devices, so that it can be cleaned easily and often.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 has attracted a significant amount of attention due to its new health features, with the Medical ID feature being praised as a potential lifesaver. Because smartphones don't allow users to access the device without a password, it is harder to access an emergency contact if the user is somehow incapacitated. However, the Medical ID feature subverts this issue by creating an entire page that has a user's emergency medical information easily accessible, including blood types and medical conditions in addition to emergency contacts.
Mobile technology has truly changed the way that healthcare is conducted, but it is clearly not the only piece of technology assisting the medical community. Today, remote monitoring and web portal access have made it easier than ever to contact a medical professional with questions, while also reducing the spread of infection.
