DIGITAL EXPERTS HIGHLIGHT TELEHEALTH AS A TREND DURING COVID-19
All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way people live. Stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and other measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus are leaving businesses temporarily closed and people out of their normal routines. While the situation is far from ideal, its unique nature is inspiring many industries to innovate in order to continue work. Technology is the driving force behind many of these innovations.
The World Economic Forum supported this idea in their article “10 tech trends to watch in the COVID-19 pandemic” by Yan Xiao and Ziyang Fan.¹ The trends include many items that you have likely heard about in the news, like remote work and distance learning. Other trends were more surprising, such as robot delivery and changes to global supply chains. The fifth trend pertained to the world of medicine, recognizing that telehealth is absolutely essential to providing care without spreading this highly contagious virus.
“Telehealth can be an effective way to contain the spread of COVID-19 while still providing essential primary care. Wearable personal IoT devices can track vital signs. Chatbots can make initial diagnoses based on symptoms identified by patients.” Just 10 to 20 years ago, providing healthcare without in-person interaction looked completely different than it does today. In situations like this pandemic, video calls, automated communication, and wearable devices allow doctors to make educated medical decisions from afar. The evidence is in the numbers, demonstrated by a graphic from BusinessWire that shows a telehealth platform utilization increasing from 100,000 minutes/day on March 16th to 1,500,000 minutes/day on April 6th. That 1,400% increase is a true testament to the effectiveness of telehealth in allowing healthcare providers to continue doing their jobs, keeping patients healthy without putting anyone at risk.
This medical technology is not just being used to diagnose those showing symptoms related to COVID-19, it also allows doctors to treat patients dealing with other conditions. TracPatch, for example, is wearable patient technology for total knee replacement patients that provides doctors with valuable insights into the patient’s condition and how the recovery is going. Doctors can ensure a successful at-home recovery by providing evidence-based care while the patient stays at home. With the remote patient monitoring abilities from TracPatch, a doctor can gain insights into the patient’s activity levels, skin temperature, range of motion, and other key metrics.
COVID-19 is changing how we work and live. Luckily, technologies like Tracpatch are enabling medical professionals to continue working to improve patient lives. To learn more about how TracPatch can improve your patients’ lives, contact our team today.
10 technology trends to watch in the COVID-19 pandemic. (2020, April 27). Retrieved April 30, 2020 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/10-technology-trends-coronavirus-covid19-pandemic-robotics-telehealth