Are robots going to treat your patients in the near future?

Nowadays with the help of AI, humans are reaping the benefits of artificially intelligent systems every day.

From using smart watches that use inputs to distinguish our aerobic activities, to getting recommended products online based on our previous purchase records, AI is being used in fields of technology, retail, e-commerce, education, and even in healthcare

AI, or artificial intelligence, has been used in the healthcare industry to enhance the patient experience, improvise patient care and provide support to physicians. In fact, AI is set to improve the healthcare industry by bringing down 20-35% of hospital expenses.

Common applications of AI in healthcare include:

• Managing medical records and other data by compiling and analyzing information through AI and digital automation. Robots can collect, store, manage, re-format data and provide faster and consistent access.

• Doing repetitive jobs such as X-rays, CT scans, data entry, and analyzing tests that can be done faster and more accurately.

• AI systems have the potential to select the correct treatment path by analyzing notes and reports from a patient’s file, external research and clinical expertise.

• Wearable health trackers monitor heart rate and activity levels by sending alerts to the user and this information can be shared with the doctor.

Let’s understand how artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of the entire healthcare industry and why you need to get at the forefront of this change.

Using data & AI in healthcare

Vinod Khosla, the founder of Sun Microsystems, one of the largest architectural firms, once stated that technology will make 80% of doctors redundant. But if you have to look at it differently then you’ll realize that 80% of the population is underserved. They do not get quality healthcare or have access to quality healthcare, specialist doctors, and practitioners. 

That is what technology, AI and data will actually solve! The population in rural areas will be able to access specialist doctors and their expertise.

In the NHS (National Health Service), UK, Microsoft is conducting a longitudinal study where they are trying to understand how they can optimize resources to know which patients can develop fatal complications or become serious in the ICU. This allows us to prevent serious complications and AI is the game-changer here! 

Some good examples of using AI in healthcare are robotic surgeries, image retinopathy, image analysis, risk stratification, triage, virtual nursing assistants, etc.

Advantages of Collecting Health-Related Data Digitally

While there are certainly many reasons to use pen and paper to note down important things, collecting and storing medical data digitally is more efficient as it can be recorded, stored, compressed, or transferred without any loss of quality or information.

Here are some advantages of medical data collection digitally:

1. Data Quality & Error Reduction

Collecting health-related digital data reduces the possibility of any error that can happen at the time of data collection. Also, paper can be lost, or destroyed in many ways which can create problems later if you want to re-assess the data to track your improvement whereas digital data can be easily and inexpensively stored, copied, or backed up. This greatly improves visibility and transparency for secure future access.

2. Time-Saving

Collecting data digitally reduces data collection time as well as the time to analyze it. Mentioning important details about your health on a piece of paper might be helpful but not effective in the long run. But imagine getting yourself diagnosed with a single click to having all your prescriptions, lab history, or quick access to your medical records all under one platform? 

This is a boon in disguise as it is time-efficient and is the first step to transformed healthcare.

Having an efficient analysis, management, and interpretation of medical data can also change the game for doctors to view data and open new avenues for modern healthcare.

3. Real-Time Health Tracking

One of the most important advantages of collecting your health data digitally over paper is the possibility of tracking. Using paper is not helpful to know what’s going on in real-time, but with a digital platform, the data is accessible online and it allows you to observe your health and keep a time tracking for the same. You cannot manage what you do not track, hence analytics can empower you to manage your health better.

With the help of having your data digitally available, you save time, and can access your records anytime, anywhere, and can track and analyze your health performance.

Integrating Healthcare Devices & Medical Systems- A Complete End-to-End Health Solution

Data collection from devices is an essential piece of the entire puzzle. Let's understand the power of data from devices integrated with an EHR and Teleconsultation platform. 

Wearable devices use technology and AI to collect different types of data for various purposes. These devices help monitor people’s well-being and provide care and treatment for the same. One example is the smartwatches and fitness trackers- a lot of people use them in their daily life to check their activity and well-being every day based on how much they walk or jog regularly.

Similarly, many patients worldwide are also using monitoring devices that are integrated with medical systems to control diseases and proactively eradicate unforeseen consequences. These devices measure heart rate, blood pressure, pulse, glucose level, sleep, etc. and this is also an efficient way to bridge the communication gap between patients and doctors as the entire data is available on the device.

Recently, NanoHealth partnered with Alivecor India & Omron to bring you the most advanced medical-grade devices that allow you to take care of your heart health at the ease of your fingertips.

Alivecor India’s KardiaMobile 6L is the world’s only FDA-cleared personal 6-lead ECG device. Being extremely compact, powerful and easy to use, this device allows you to take a medical-grade ECG only in 30 seconds and monitors your heart rate making heart care easy for both patients and doctors.

With the help of this device, you can easily monitor your heart at the comfort of your home without any hassle of gels or wires and you get quick and accurate ECG recordings on your android or iOS smartphone with precise information. This device also detects the 3 most common heart arrhythmias: atrial fibrillation, bradycardia (slow heart rate), tachycardia (fast heart rate), that are leading indicators of cardiovascular diseases.

Another device from OMRON is a blood pressure device which allows you to track your blood pressure from the comfort of home. With the help of the device you can store your blood pressure recordings on your phone which is also visible to your doctor with the press of a button. This helps the doctor remotely analyze your risk and give you a prescription which is also saved in the same platform and you can then longitudinally track your BP data overtime to see your progress.

Instead of choosing either, choose a complete solution where all your data is stored in one place to determine your health risks in real-time and periodically keep track of your health.