Healthcare tech accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic

One of the most pressing issues in healthcare today is determining to what extent health systems have the digital capacity to engage every consumer and citizen throughout the world when and where they are needed to help them stay healthy. This includes assisting in the prevention of COVID-19 infection as well as the management of other chronic illnesses.

The upscaling of virtual care capacity and telehealth, in the wake of the pandemic, has led to various new computerized wellbeing instruments. For example, self-triaging and contact tracing, which in certain instances help in flattening of incident curve.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine is the use of virtual platforms, such as telecommuting to contain the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. When executed adequately, virtual care can increase medical care access, yet potential dangers could incorporate misdiagnoses and privacy breaches, for example.
Despite the concerns, the pandemic shows that the use of technology to make health care services accessible to anyone is a major responsibility today. The systems can be developed such that they are able to diagnose a disease at an early stage, or even assist people with chronic diseases manage their condition.

Omnia Health Live is a virtual expo, in which Prof Tim Pawlik, Chair of Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, shared that, the number of telemedicine visits at his hospital increased from less than a 100 to almost 14,000 a month.

In spite of that, Prof Pawlik has raised several concerns such as having some individuals be of a lower economic socio status, therefore unable to access the internet, as well as having to maintain the experience and educational experience of their trainees.

AI in Diagnostics

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has aided in the quick diagnosis and risk prediction of COVID-19. For example, a cloud-based AI-assisted CT service has been used in China, to detect COVID-19 pneumonia cases. With this technology, COVID-19 is said to be distinguished from other lung diseases and have the diagnostic process sped up.

3D Printing

The Coronavirus crisis has put massive pressure on healthcare workers and hospitals have been overwhelmed by patient traffic and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, et cetera, which poses a high risk of contracting COVID-19. Hence, with the pandemic, many companies are using their 3D printers to churn out PPE for healthcare workers.

Digitalization

Providers of primary source verification solutions give access to databases of job-seeking, enabling hiring managers to access a digital pool of verified medical staff who are seeking new opportunities, when recruiting employees became a challenge due to COVID-19. The use of blockchain-enabled platforms has also proven that it could be beneficial in tracking and tracing medical supply chains.