Importance of Technology In The Field of Health and Wellness

Per se Latin proverb Good health and good sense are two great blessings; is such an important hint to lead a joyful life in such a short sentence. While everyone would cherish the benefits of health without any convenience there are several personal and physiological factors resulting in poor health among individuals in both rural and urban areas. 

Societal development and capitalism are the fastest trains in the 21st century that people are trying to get their physical and mental health at risk. However, if you don't have time for your health today then there will be no health for tomorrow.

When it comes to health there is a lot of debate about the side effects of technology. Some efforts go as far as claiming that technology is making individuals anti-social, along with the impact on mental wellbeing, leading to weakened immune systems and onset of several diseases at an earlier age. 

The use of technology and its effects on mental health being is a debatable topic however; it should shadow the benefits of technology in the health care sectors. 

Technology assimilates every aspect of our life including education, work, dating, and personal relationships as well as health. And as we include health we are referring to the use of technology/ internet for self-diagnosis of disease. That one aspect is fairly harmful. 

Technological progress in the health care sector has been one of the biggest achievements for humanity in terms of mortality rate and better life hope for people born with certain genetic conditions and disabilities. 

Importance of Technology for Health And Wellness With Practical Examples

Technology Helps Tracks Wellness:

Wearable that track your vitals and exercise time are fairly famous for a few years now. Additionally, several apps help you track your intake, remind you about medications, track your symptoms, sleep, and more. 

These can also go as helping you in managing a good diet through virtual assistance. Several apps allow you to calculate your BMI according to height and current weight including medical conditions which then suggest diets suitable for you. 

The important feature of these devices is that they can be synced to several devices and accounts. Through the accounts, you can also revive your health history which can provide your physician some crucial information about your health. This may include an increase and reduction in appetite, sleep, heartbeat, and active time. The wearable particularly help home health care associates keeping a better track of health.

Technology Promotes Professional Accessibility:

In the earlier days, the main focus of technology was quicker and effective communication across miles and for that several devices and technology were developed. On the 21st the technology is modifying certain aspects of communication to promote less consumption of manpower. 

The technology is promoting the coders and the applications are continuously being modified to connect the individuals with a consultant at any time of the day. And additionally book appointments as well without the agony of waiting on a call for a longer time.

Through these applications, the hospital is able to shift its manpower in different departments rather than dedicating it to the reception only. 

Additionally, thanks to these applications individuals residing in rural areas can now easily access professional help in no time. 

Technology Is Environmental Friendly and Cost-Effective:

Keeping a record of any important document is a hassle. You can never tell when and where you would need it. Moreover, it gets even harder for health care institutions to keep track of all patients’ data. 

Thanks to technology several tech giants have introduced software liable to store all patients’ data digitally. This software also has features that can send appointment reminders, e-billings, lab reports, and more along with reducing cost. A study from the University of Michigan revealed that shifting from paper to electronic health records reduced the cost of outpatient care by 3%.

Technology Enables Fast Recovery and Convenience:

One of the overall benefits of technology is that it is convenient and saves time by shortening the process duration. The technological advances are no longer associated with machinery only but it has exceeded its benefits in human autonomy as well. 

Two of the major useful and practical examples in this category would be 3D bone printing and anti-bleeding gel that has been thoroughly used in health sectors. 

The 3D printer technology uses a formula mixture of zinc, silicon, and calcium phosphate to prepare a model of bone. This model then is placed at the sight of the broken bone and as the real bone gets fixed, the model automatically disintegrates. Through this technology, you can potentially decrease the days of immobility due to broken bones. 

The second technology is the most effective when it comes to emergencies and is introduced in reducing the number of patients in the ER. The anti-bleeding Gel is made from a natural substance that helps grow cells together. On application, it creates a synthetic work similar to the extracellular matrix. 

Technology Can Help Prevent Diseases: 

For such a long time scientists and pharmaceutical companies have invested billions of dollars to develop medicines that can cure diseases, currently deemed to be incurable. However, the surge of technology to predict future health by observing repetitive behavior patterns in the human body gave hope to scientists that several diseases can be prevented before onset rather than spending millions on pharmaceutical manufacturing. 

The fairly practical technology in this category is Genome Sequencing.

Genome Sequencing is a process of determining an organism's genome complete DNA sequence. It helps figure out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome. The technology is helping recognize the patterns of cause and effects. The technology has so far provided meaningful insight into the pattern of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's. In 2021, the UK also became the first world leader in sequencing the coronavirus genome using the same technology, helpful in the further development of effective vaccines. 

Several activists and critics still debate that the incorporation of technology in the health care sector is not as visible as it is celebrated among the authorities. On a higher scale, several health care facilities do lack the funding to fully introduce technology into the administrations including aspects such as cloud data storage or EHR, however, still, the advantages currently reaped outweighed the disadvantages and critical views of technology present in the health care sector.