Healthcare

With remote monitoring technology, patients now have access to high quality care in home setting. Wireless sensors and medical device integration enable patients to recuperate at home post discharge while their vitals are constantly monitored for any signs demanding intervention. Post-surgical care and long-term care have been made more comfortable for patients and care-givers by enabling access from home. Telehealth has made specialty care easily accessible to patients living in remote areas. They can now avoid inconvenience and expense of traveling to cities when they need medical care that can easily be supported by telehealth.
Advanced technologies are enabling patients lead a better quality of life and reducing their helpless dependency on others. Sensor networks supporting activity recognition coupled with sophisticated business intelligence capabilities of behavior modeling and predictive modeling  can help in intelligent monitoring and interventions for geriatric care. For eg- Senior citizens need not be confined to old age home but can continue to live in their own homes where intelligent monitoring system learns their activity patterns over a period of time and alerts care-givers if any aberration is observed. If a person usually spends not more than 20 minutes in a bathroom, the system will alert caregivers if patient spends more than the threshold level of time there and check can be done for an accidental fall. Similarly, mildly cognitively-impaired patients can be enabled to lead a close to normal life leveraging sensor technology and advanced analytics. Such patients can venture out of their home on their own with a Personal Digital Assistant which can guide them if they are lost. It can provide them basic information of date, time, location along with guidance to reach back home from where they are. At a click of a button, they can also be connected to helpdesk that can arrange any necessary intervention. The technology-backed promise of access to care when it is needed is a strong patient enabler.
The other dimension of patient enablement is providing them information that helps them to take better care of their health.  Simple interventions like sms reminders or automated phone call reminders to take medication on time can help improve medication compliance significantly.  Lifestyle changes can be reinforced by constant guidance and encouragement for proper diet and exercises leveraging technology. Podcasts, videos and wellness applications can be downloaded by patients to empower themselves with information and tools for self-health management. A more interactive and personalized health education and health management experience can come from internet and IP TV. Telcos are experimenting with innovative health and wellness services to offer over IP TV. Whether you are looking for gluten-free recipes for a Celiac aunt’s birthday party or you want an effective exercise regime for post-pregnancy weight-loss, your TV may have the answer.  The day may not be far when age-old adage can be rephrased to “A bit of TV a day keeps the doctor away”
Is there a risk of technology-driven enablement of patients resulting in hypochondria or some unintentional action which is detrimental to health? Well, the possibility cannot be entirely negated. This is why technology is not enough for true patient enablement. Patients always need physicians as trusted advisors to guide and support them on self-health management.