The Age of Technology has revolutionized the way people communicate with each other. Computers, smartphones and the Internet makes connecting with other people easier and more efficient. This ever-changing digital landscape has created numerous innovations, such as cloud-based medical platforms. Gone are the days of newspaper delivery at your doorstep, for example. Newspaper deliveries decreased because of blogs and online news options, although there are still options to receive the Sunday newspaper in its original form.
Evolution of Communication Technology in Medicine
Like many other industries in the 20th century, healthcare began to utilize computers when their accessibility and computing capabilities improved. This would lead to the creation of the first Electronic Health Records (EHRs), which simplified the processing of medical data and streamlined many other functions. Paper documents, however, remains in use, working in tandem with digitized information. Pagers and email are still used extensively and remain a staple device in hospitals today.
Outdated Functions
While these examples of communication retain their usefulness and reliability in the modern age, there are other, more cost-efficient methods and devices that can quicken the process of processing and communicating important data. Outdated communication technology can waste precious physician time, from waiting for an email to be answered to delaying the discharge time of patients.
A Solution?
In a changing digital environment, accommodating new data is important when solving growing healthcare needs. There needs to be a more practical, less obtuse forms of communication between medical practitioners. Innovations such as mobile medical apps can speed up or simplify certain medical decision-making, such as allergies, but as a whole, communication technology in healthcare can be improved further.
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