DHT#4: Can Healthcare Transition Fully Into Tech?

I told a friend who complained about the state of health care in Nigeria to go for online consultation.

Her reply said: The physician needs to see you physically for effectiveness and I do not disagree with this point at all.

My only aim in writing about Digital Health Technology is to remind us that the world has moved past the stethoscopes and consultation bed kind of healthcare.

If covid-19 taught us nothing, it slapped us in the face with the reality that things can work and work excellently well without the physical presence of anyone.

Her question again said: Can Healthcare Transition fully into tech?

My initial response was short but here is the full version.

I replied saying “In truth, we don’t need to fully transition into tech, we just need to create the right kind of accessibility.”

For context, every innovation made in digital health technology is aimed at;

• Saving time,
• Boosting accuracy and efficiency, and
• combining technologies in ways that provide inclusive health care.

The word Inclusive for me is a point where all systems and processes meet to create a synergy.

This synergy will bring the vision of reduced mortality rate, human contact to infections and many more to the barest minimum.

What are the innovations that are being made to work for this vision to be achieved❓

• Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
• Medical Health (MHealth)
• Blockchain-based Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Augmented & Virtual reality (AR & VR)

Follow closely as I go a bit deeper from the top to the bottom

1. Internet of Medical Things:

This combines medical devices with healthcare systems using networking technologies.

Examples include;

• Telemedicine technology like the MaDoctor application improves the communication between the doctor and the patient.
• Smart Sensor Technology like the Apple wristwatch that can collect data at the level of the user.
• Smartphone-based pacemaker device in 2021 which was named innovation of the year by Cleveland Clinic.

This device uses a mobile app to connect any pacemaker device that can securely and wirelessly transfer a patient’s data to their network while helping their physician manage the health.

2. Medical Health (MHealth)

These are various technologies that provide access to healthcare support and monitoring especially in managing chronic and long-term conditions.

Examples include:

• Wearables like smartwatches with features for heart rate detection, pulse rate, electrocardiography and continuous glucose monitoring.
• Applications like google fit, flo period tracker, walk pace.
• Mobile Technologies like laptops, tablets and smartphones.

3. Blockchain-based Electronic Medical Records (EMR’s) and Electronic Health Records

Since some of the benefits of blockchain are;

• Data access security,
• Data privacy, and
• Data scalability.

The presence of blockchain-based EMR and EHR is attractive in digital health, because of;

• reduced time needed to access a patient’s information from anywhere in the world
• improved data quality and interoperability.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence in digital health-care can automate and speed up previous labor intensive tasks.

This function I have seen at work with the clinical decision system of the MaDoctor.

Functions of AI in digital health may include:

• Access to previous record of a patient while simultaneously getting their current status.
• AI based patient monitoring tool to collect and treat patients.
• Reduce the number of clicks needed to perform a task before deciding the next step like in medical imaging.
• Modeling medical devices and patients to show how a tool would work in actual condition.
• Ability to draw information from all these health systems and applications since the amount of data is massive and will continue to proliferate.

5. Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality is used in digital healthcare in the areas of

• patient and doctor education,
• surgical visualization and
• disease simulation.

Because it integrated digital information with the user’s environment.

Here is something to ponder upon

Are the patients and doctors in the African health-care system ready to embrace what is to come?

As the health-care industry profile of the World Economic Forum said “More than a billion people will need reskilling in medical technology by 2030.”

Are you waiting for the time to reskill or you’re on the path to reskilling?

Share your thoughts in the comment.