Flyer

Health Science Journal

  • ISSN: 1108-7366
  • Journal h-index: 51
  • Journal CiteScore: 10.69
  • Journal Impact Factor: 9.13
  • Average acceptance to publication time (5-7 days)
  • Average article processing time (30-45 days) Less than 5 volumes 30 days
    8 - 9 volumes 40 days
    10 and more volumes 45 days
Awards Nomination 20+ Million Readerbase
Indexed In
  • Genamics JournalSeek
  • China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)
  • CiteFactor
  • CINAHL Complete
  • Scimago
  • Electronic Journals Library
  • Directory of Research Journal Indexing (DRJI)
  • EMCare
  • OCLC- WorldCat
  • University Grants Commission
  • Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research
  • Euro Pub
  • Google Scholar
  • SHERPA ROMEO
  • Secret Search Engine Labs
Share This Page

Research Article - (2018) Volume 12, Issue 2

The Role of Digital Medicine on the Improvement of the Healthcare beyond the Hospitals

Waleed Alshahrani*

School of Health Science, Kent State University, Ohio, USA

*Corresponding Author:

Waleed Alshahrani
School of Health Science
Kent State University, Ohio, USA
Tel: 0012345257370
E-mail: walshahr@kent.edu

Received Date: 30 March 2018; Accepted Date: 16 April 2018; Published Date: 23 April 2018

Citation: Alshahrani W (2018) The Role of Digital Medicine on the Improvement of the Healthcare beyond the Hospitals. Health Sci J. Vol. 12 No. 2: 562.

Copyright: © 2018 Alshahrani W. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

DOI: 10.21767/1791-809X.1000562

Visit for more related articles at Health Science Journal

Abstract

In modern settings, health care is essential as it accommodates the current intellectual evolution as well as the changes that have occurred in the societal settings. As such no single individual can deny the essence of modern medical integration to technology so as to offer better solutions oriented to the specific problems that are being faced by the modern generation. It is a digital medicine which integrates technology as well as the products have eased the whole process of offering medical services to the patients. As a broad area of digital health, it is as well essential to understand the surroundings to the crucial topic of modern times. In this paper as such digital medicine will be covered with a concentration on the elements that surround the central theme of discussion. Digital health will be as such being introduced since it provides the factors that surround the essential topic of digital medicine.

Keywords

Digital health; Digital medicine; Healthcare practitioners; Humanity advancement

Introduction

Healthcare has evolved over time, and a reflection on the history of medicine will always give an insight to the same notion. When the idea is approached from this perspective one gets to understand that the field is of medicine is not only an area which is central to the human life, but it is as well a way of life in the modern settings. The reason the field has gained so much trust, as well as approval of people on a global scale, is the fact that there has always been an observation as well as adherence to precision [1]. Each gain in one generation is compounded to the medical practice of the following generation. In the 20th century, there was an unforgettable boom in technology, and it was seen as an independent field that would be beneficial to the society as a whole [2]. A careful look at the medical field there is a slower pace in the absorption of any new technology especially if it is aimed at replacing preexisting ways of handling as well as doing things.

One case that has been evident is the absorption of online medical record keeping in that hospitals prefer the old and proper methods of storing data. The reason is that is a convention and bearing in mind that only split seconds are required to determine a case of medical success as well as a failure [3]. Digital medicine as well is facing ample scrutiny to determine its edgy part and in the end, when it is fully recognized it will not only add to the benefits of the medical practice. It will as well guarantee that health care, in general, is improved [4]. Many experts who have been included in the team that analyzes the new venture have aired their fears and alternative and solutions are being offered every time a think tank meets to address the matter [5]. In conjunction with IT experts, there is subsequent analysis as well as improve so that the area can be analyzed for its benefits as well as consequences that could result from its use. In this paper, the role of the new-found technology in digital medicine will be illustrated, analyzed as well as criticized accordingly to offer a sound way forward to the field [6]. There will as well be an analysis of the objectives of the technology and the elements they intend to bring into the medical field so that humanity would reap the benefits of it technology. It will as well be illustrated the promise the same technology promises in the future. The various elements that are observed as unclear will be illustrated, and the suggested ways out of the dilemma will be as well tackled so as to offer a clear way forward [1]. The paper will as well have an independent view of the whole situation on the group so that the independent opinions will be a plus to the requirements of generating a sustainable solution in the mass application of the technology in the longetivity [3].

Impact of digital medicine

No one can deny that technology has made life more efficient as well has enhanced delivery of services to the community [7]. If one is in denial of the above fact, there is a likelihood that they are either inexperienced regarding technology use or they dwell in marginalized zones where the impact is hard to come by at any time. In the medical field delivery of services has been made easy in that there are documented medical facts that can be accessed through the World Wide Web platform [4]. It is another step forward in the delivery of medical services, and it as well has created the essential basis upon which self-diagnosis has been based [5]. Without much knowledge about medicine anyone suffering from a particular set of conditions can access the internet and according to the medical guides available thy can assess the condition that could be underlying in their system [5].

In some websites, there are online medical practitioners offering services which are live from the popularized chat box. Other platforms have emails whereby the client describes their condition to the medical practitioners, and they get a response in due time without having to visit the hospital premises or the chemist. As such the hospital; has been on the front line to assist in the provision of better care in that the medical services offered are articulated to needs of the current generation [7]. One does not have to miss attending their job so that they could meet a doctor’s appointment. One as well does not always have to take a sick leave since they are suffering from a condition in that they could have their medical condition assessed remotely and effective medical assistance offered accordingly [5]. There are as well other platforms whereby the patient is allowed to make an online purchase for the medication, and the medicine is delivered to their zone of convenience [2]. The fact that the medicine gets to the place where the order was made as well reduces the cost and time spent visiting the clinic and in the end, the individuals as well assisted through convenient services.

Contribution to better services delivery

To the outside eye, digital health appears to have a paltry fraction in contributing to the overall effectiveness of the healthcare. The new form of services delivery by definition offers the backbone upon which the digital, as well as the genomic understanding, are based and the contribution they have had on healthcare, lifestyle as well as society [8]. Digital health in modern settings is the sole tool used for empowering individuals so that they could live better in their life, manage the progress of their life as well as create the required the balance used in governing family settings [4]. The new technology has offered the means by which efficiency can be guaranteed as well as safeguarding life. It as well has provided the various ways that a solution can be generated. The technology has been of the essence in that it intertwines itself with the currents societal settings so that it could offer solutions articulated to the modern way of life [2]. It as such has avoided contradiction that some technologies bring. Some ways of doing things sole objectives usually are obliteration of the older methods which brings about friction [7]. The old technology has been beneficial to the society, and some individuals have set their life around the old way of offering medical services [9].

In particular, some clinicians benefited from consultancy fees when the patients used to visit the hospital premise and as such it was an area of employment that cannot be ignored when the new technology is being integrated [5]. As such the technology as it is being developed aims at not only offering new ways of doing things. It as well targets at sustaining the old forms of employment. One way that has been found useful is a slower rate of absorption of the technology in the medical field [4]. As such it guarantees that there is ample time to allocate for pilot projects, and careful analysis offers the best way digital medicine will benefit all. It will as well allow secondary healthcare institutions to do reorganization to lie in line so that they could as well reap the advantages of the newly found technology [1].

It as well includes the need for most institutions to secure funds that would be used in the progression of the campaign for the adoption of the new technology into everyday practice [3]. There is a likelihood that the trend will increase access to medical care since those who are remotely located can access the same care that is offered within the convenience of hospital settings. It will as well be possible that there will be horizontal as well as vertical transmission of knowledge in that many will if the trend persists familiar to the medical practice as well as the initials step of diagnosis [8]. It will trigger new found interest in the field of healthcare, and the area will see much talent tapped into the field. In the long run, it will contribute to accrued benefits in the medical field that will go down in history as a success project of the current generation [9]. It will as be lying in line with the present culture that very generation of healthcare practitioners adds up to the accrued benefits for the betterment of services delivery to subsequent generations.

Insight into digital health

It is the broad category where digital health encompassed it, as well as it includes all they are supporting factors to making the process of digital medicine delivery not only smooth but as well effective. It encompassed all the supporting artifacts to the smoothening of the said services. It also includes tools that are used in the generation of medical data and the process allowing remote interaction with the concerned parties. It encompasses the application, the Smartphones included in the execution of the drill [4]. There are as well applications that are used to make the process effective in the latest attempts there is DNA sequencer machinery that has inbuilt software that allows one to remotely analyzed the constituents of the central unit of life. As such services such as paternity tests, linkage to genetic mutation defects as well as analysis of an individual’s lineage can be articulated with a high degree of precisions. The field has impact in the improval as well as optimization of digital health in that it promotes [9]. Doctors and nurses can off handle directly with laser precision the procedures to the diagnosis of the condition as well as offer the necessary consultation advice so that the concerned parties can access to the necessary medical intervention [4].

The newly generated field as well has acted as a gateway to specialization in medicine and as such it has influenced the increased career paths available for any individual who are attempting to score jobs. It as such increases the available options for the medical practitioners and in the end it contributes to specialization, and as such one can engage in fields that they are strongest in and as such, it encourages academic excellence [9]. Medical practitioners who are more versatile with technology can remotely engage in talks with other medical; professionals by relegate knowledge using avatars as well as algorithms and as such stay in touch with patients, other health practitioners through the newly found platforms [4]. The exchange of ideas will allow faster execution of services, saving lives as well as increase the doctors’ contribution to the society since they are delivering more per unit time.

Contribution to improvement of other fields of expertise

Therefore, digital health compound to the paltry field of digital health in the overall medical field. The whole set of the industry may as well include social media, the internet, genomics, health IT as well as the physical gadgets that involved in information transmission such as microprocessors as well as the integrated circuits. Collaboration efforts have as well contributed to the overall additional of the efficiency of modern methods of execution of tasks [3]. It as such has helped to improved technological advancement. When a new technology is unleashed it undergoes initial testing stages and the medical field usually is one of the best testing platforms [6]. The fact the area is stringent in the adoption of new technologies ensures that before they adopt a new set of knowledge is fool proof. To the IT experts, it is a chance to offer reviews in that it offers valuable information regarding evaluations and assessment for the released products [3]. It as such works in collaboration with other technical fields that have integrated their expertise with the medical field and in the end it would compute to more professionalism [8]. It will as well contribute to the overall services delivery and affordability in that it would decrease the cost of the provision of services as well as increase the level of penetration of these vital tools towards improving health care in the society in totality.

In the context of disease management, there is likelihood that the condition could be controlled more efficiently in that the patients could access professional help within a little time frame. It as such acts as a viable too to medical practitioners in bringing the gap between accessing the information stored in data banks in the case of handling follow-up patients. There can be remote monitoring of their progress as well as offer assistance regarding resolving the consequences and in the long run the situation would be diverted and allow the practitioners to solve a medical dilemma within the timeframe allowed.

There are efforts to develop and enhance the technology that goes into integrating large as well as heterogeneous datasets [10]. Machinery is being developed that would have the capacity to handle such data torrents and in the end, they would be capable of solving large and complex calculations in a short duration [9]. As such more medical dilemmas will be easy to tackle with laser jets precision without missing out on any calculations., such machinery have been integrated with the ability to include the notion of errors as well as data significance in that the data being used.

Opportunities as well as challenges

As pointed earlier in the article most healthcare institutions are hesitant to develop as well as integrate the technology into the hospital settings. It has to pass the entire test so that it can guarantee safety as well the well-being of the patients that the hospital settings are expected to be taking care. In that sense, the establishment will calibrate if the technology will increase efficiency or will be a new set of problem. There is as well a likelihood that the patients might wrongly execute the doctor’s advice and it can lead to a medical disaster which has consequences [10]. To protect their professionalism as well as practice license doctors may shy away from the mass application of such technologies especially when offering consultancy services. There is as well the risk of the systems being tampered with and the problem of espionage steps in this context [10]. As such some may fear using this set of a technicality in fear that it would lead to their privacy being exposed. It is more so to the political families. Therefore, there has to substantial proof that use of such technologies will enhance life and not the associated detrimental consequences associated with the medical field.

Conclusion

There is the changing face of medical practice by the inclusion of new technologies. It has added to the accrued advantages in that there is speed in the delivery of services as well as the inclusion of medical help in the assistance of the provision of services. The field if there is careful as well as perpetual development there is a likelihood that it would add to the accrued benefits that are being reaped by the current generation. It would as well safeguard the practice in the medical field in that it would be fool proof of errors and the benefits could be carried forward to future generations.

22582

References

  1. Dai K (2015) 3D printing: The cutting edge of digital medicine. Digital Med 1: 51-53.
  2. Shaffer D, Kigin C, Kaput J, Gazelle G (2002) What is digital medicine? Stud Health Technol Inform 80:195-204.
  3. Topol E (2010) Transforming medicine via digital innovation. Science Translational Medicine 2: 16-18.
  4. Gupta M, Singh N, Shrivastava K, Mishra P (2015) Significance of digital imaging and communication in medicine in digital imaging. Digital Med 1: 63-66.
  5. Zhang S (2015) Digital medicine: An exciting field of medical sciences. Digital Med 1: 1-2.
  6. Elenko E, Underwood L, Zohar D (2015) Defining digital medicine. Nat Biotechnol 33:  456-461.
  7. Sonnier P (2016) Definition of digital health. Paul Sonnier - Story of Digital Health.
  8. Williamson J, Bliss D, Paydarfar D (2013) Digital medicine is no wonder cure. RespPhysiol Neurobiol 189: 223-231.
  9. Stsiweb (2016) Digital medicine. Scripps Translational Science Institute.
  10. Topol R (2016) Cook and Topol: How digital medicine will soon save your life. WSJ.