Heard the adage, “Ask, and you shall receive”? In today’s digitally-powered life, the phrase stands truer than ever! From buying your monthly groceries and paying bills to choosing from a menu of job opportunities or your favorite restaurant, almost everything is doable from your favorite spot on the couch. While we expect ease in most areas of daily life, healthcare isn’t often thought of as something simple and accessible. Furthermore, unlike many aspects of life, health is non-negotiable! We have come to expect the management of healthcare concerns to be a tedious task entailing lab visits and complex reports, and doctors’ appointments to be able to comprehend them. However, that needn’t be the case. Advents in health technology and ubiquitous smartphones are simplifying healthcare; while digitization delivers the world to the palm of our hands, technological upgrades are also making health management a much more seamless part of our lives.

Health tech and digital healthcare tools have transformed the way we treat and manage various aspects of our health– doing away with a number of complicated steps that often left us dependent on others. By enabling access to key analytical data and insights, digital healthcare has been an absolute game-changer for the management of chronic health issues, and has optimized the innate benefits of technology for an area that absolutely needs it – our health and wellbeing!

Here are a few ways in which technology is simplifying healthcare for you:

Enabling intuitive connections with your heart

While in-person consults aren’t always possible and sometimes difficult to schedule in cases of non-emergency, innovations like remote monitoring devices have helped ensure that you are always connected –  especially critical when managing health conditions like cardiovascular disease that require regular monitoring. For example,  insertable cardiac monitors not only keep a track of cardiac arrhythmias and heart health while you go about your day, but this shareable data is also recorded and synced with your smartphone. This gives doctors access to a comprehensive view of your heart health and you the opportunity to participate in planning your treatment, all via wireless delivery systems that are making it increasingly easier to ensure seamless healthcare connectivity.

Creating personalized “profiles”

If you have ever used a professional networking platform, you know the importance of keeping your “profile” up to date. You update it with your latest goals and accomplishments at work, skill enhancement plans and all relevant information to achieve the best possible outcome for career advancement. Similarly, an up-to-date health profile is key for creating the best opportunity to manage health goals. Digital healthcare is making this possible by helping us get the right information and providing ways to utilise it optimally. For example, when managing a chronic condition like diabetes it is usually recommended you keep tabs on your glucose levels through the day and track patterns to assess the effectiveness of your treatment plan and alter it if needed. Innovations like wearable sensor-based continuous glucose monitors painlessly track your glucose levels through the day and night in real-time, identify daily patterns and long-term trends, and provide alerts if your levels are too low or high – all without you having to take any extra steps. What’s even better is that all this data is stored over time and available for tracking on – you guessed it – your smartphone, via an app! Having access to this information allows your doctors to piece together a more complete and accurate picture of your health profile and helps create a personalised treatment plan based on your body’s current requirements, most recent health markers and future goals. This access also empowers you to take measures through the day and stay in the know about your bodily cues.

Sharing and decoding actionable data

While digital healthcare has made it simpler for people to manage health, it has also been advantageous for healthcare providers. Doctors are always connected to those under their care— they have scientific, evidence-based information about their patients at their fingertips, and can provide timely medical interventions, whenever needed. Furthermore, AI powered tech and devices are also opening up access to a whole new world of information, via enhanced medical imaging capabilities and through algorithms that provide accurate data and readings about patients’ health conditions to the health-care provider.

Digitisation has led to more connected healthcare. It has come to be an integral part of our lives in a way we have grown to expect – seamless, simple and information-rich. This convergence of health and technology has altered the way we analyse, deliver and receive healthcare… probably one of the most productive and helpful reasons for scrolling through your phone! When it comes to simplifying life, health tech delivers with real time data and hassle-free information sharing mechanisms, helping you and your healthcare providers to make more beneficial decisions, with ease. 

Disclaimer: The information mentioned in this document is only suggestive /for patient education and shall not be considered as a substitute for doctor’s advice or recommendations from Abbott. Please consult your doctor for more information.