Health tech, short for “health technology,” refers to the application of technology, digital tools, and innovative solutions to improve and enhance various aspects of healthcare and the overall healthcare system. It encompasses a wide range of technologies and innovations that aim to make healthcare more efficient, accessible, and effective. Health tech is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to transform how healthcare is delivered, managed, and experienced by patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders.
Over the past few years, health tech has grown tenfold and has been adopted largely by every medical firm. As per reports, in 2018, 70 percent of healthcare organizations invested in mobile medical apps, which is estimated to be nearly USD 1.5 trillion. Even in India, the future of health tech is expected to soar higher. By 2025, experts predict that the Indian health tech market will reach USD 21 billion.
And the reasons for such advancements are clear; health tech has developed personal technology to digitize healthcare facilities, fundamentally transforming the entire medical decision dynamics. Treatments are conducted through a combination of health monitoring technologies, including telemedicine, at-home diagnoses, and even pop-up retail settings. Health tech developers have begun to identify the specific benefits of remotely treating patients.
Here are some key aspects of health tech and why it matters to all of us:
Improved Healthcare Access: Health tech solutions can bridge geographical and logistical gaps, making healthcare services more accessible to people in remote or underserved areas. Telemedicine and mobile health apps, for example, allow patients to consult with healthcare providers remotely, reducing the need for physical visits.
Enhanced Patient Care: Health tech innovations can lead to more personalized and efficient patient care. Electronic health records (EHRs) centralize patient data, making it easier for healthcare providers to access and share information, leading to better-informed decisions and coordinated care.
Preventive Medicine: Health tech promotes preventive healthcare by enabling early detection of diseases and tracking health metrics. Wearable devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, monitor vital signs and activity levels, helping individuals make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Innovative Treatments: Health tech supports the development of cutting-edge treatments and therapies. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are being used to analyze vast amounts of medical data and discover new drug candidates or treatment protocols.
Cost Efficiency: The adoption of health tech can lead to cost savings in healthcare. For instance, predictive analytics can help hospitals optimize resource allocation, reducing operational expenses, and minimizing healthcare waste.
Patient Empowerment: Health tech empowers patients by providing them with access to health information and tools to manage their own health. Patients can use mobile apps to schedule appointments, receive medication reminders, and track their progress.
Research and Development: Health tech accelerates medical research by facilitating data sharing and collaboration among researchers worldwide. Large datasets, made available through health tech solutions, can support studies and clinical trials.
Public Health and Disease Surveillance: Health tech plays a vital role in monitoring and managing public health crises. It enables the tracking of disease outbreaks, contact tracing, and the dissemination of critical information to the public.
Global Health: Health tech innovations can have a significant impact on global health challenges, such as improving healthcare access in developing countries and addressing infectious diseases.
Data Privacy and Security: As health tech collects and stores sensitive health data, ensuring robust data privacy and security measures is critical to protect patients’ confidentiality and prevent data breaches.
Why does health tech matter?
The world is growing older day by day, and technology helps every person lead a comfortable and safe life.
The doctor-patient relationship’s new dynamic requires collaboration and business models and a revised understanding of the healthcare company’s role in a value chain that helps health tech development. Moreover, health tech development is the source of connecting health organizations, which plays a vital role in making things easy for health practitioners and hospitals.
By implementing EHR (Electronic Health Record), doctors can measure and track patient data for an extended period. It helps to identify the people whose medical and preventive check-ups are due. Alongside this, EHR also helps monitor each patient’s certain requirements around vaccinations and blood pressure readings. Similarly, HIMS, Pharmacy Management Software (PMS), Medical Practice Management Software (MPMS), and more telemedicine offerings help healthcare companies manage their key operations and stay compliant with standards, such as HIPAA, HHS, ONC-ATCB, HITECH’s MU-1 and MU-2, and HL7.
Health tech also provides critical and urgent help to patients who live in backward and rural areas. Health tech improves healthcare delivery quality, increases patients’ safety, reduces medical errors, and improves healthcare providers’ and patients’ interaction. On a similar note, the future of healthcare will likely be a consumer-driven market with a holistic approach to health and personalized treatment.