From education to employment, many of us have adapted to a remote study and work environment. Kids, teachers, and office workers have all adopted different kinds of technology that enable us to connect with each other and perform activities without physically needing to be in the same place as someone else.
This is the same way connected healthcare works. Connected healthcare uses technology to deliver proactive and efficient care to patients. In a connected healthcare system, providers and patients can access and share information using data and devices.
In this system, a vast amount of patient data needs to be transmitted securely and can be done via robust routers such as those from Cradlepoint. This data transmission has several advantages, such as providing at-home, virtual care for patients who may not always find it convenient to visit their doctor’s practice. Uninterrupted, secure healthcare data exchanged over reliable antennas such as those from Taoglas offer patients and doctors peace of mind while ensuring that people can practice continuous care.
In addition to being convenient, connected healthcare offers several other advantages for doctors and patients alike.
Patient-Doctor Partnership is Strengthened
When patients can keep track of their healthcare through various devices such as wearables or smartphone apps, they may be more likely to take a proactive stance toward their health. Instead of merely receiving information and direction from their providers, people can now participate from a place of knowledge and awareness. This helps strengthen the patient-doctor relationship by establishing a common ground. Being able to keep track of their diet, exercise routine, sleep, and mental health, patients have an opportunity to share more insights with their providers. This eventually leads to more informed recommendations from doctors and better decision-making from patients.
Clinical Workflow Improves
A connected healthcare system enables efficiency in workflow. Imagine moving to a new city, finding a new healthcare provider, and automatically receiving your healthcare records. This helps doctors’ offices save time they’d spend chasing one another and instead devote that time to delivering better healthcare to their patients. Not only is an improved workflow better for customer service, but it also can increase productivity and reduce the time spent on less-important administrative work.
A connected healthcare system also enables the communication between different healthcare providers and patients to be relatively seamless. Imagine a situation where a patient may need to consult different types of doctors. Since our physical and mental well-being is intrinsically linked, it is important for doctors to access our entire medical history and view it as one complete picture. A connected healthcare system ensures that communication between providers, patients, and their caregivers remains as smooth and error-free as possible.
Communication Becomes More Streamlined
Despite advances in technology and our rapid adoption of this technology, connected healthcare is still in its infancy. Wearables such as smartwatches may sometimes record incorrect data leading to ineffective corrective actions. Most importantly, the biggest concerns with connected healthcare are data privacy and cybersecurity. When something as personal as our health gets linked with something as risk-prone as connected devices, it can create legitimate concerns for individuals and organizations.
For all its pros and cons, connected healthcare holds a lot of potentials. Be that in the care of the elderly, or those seeking lifestyle guidance. Connected healthcare has also proved immensely useful during the pandemic as mental health has taken a front seat in conversations. Combined with robust technology and human know-how, it can ensure a relatively low-stress healthcare environment for doctors and patients alike.
