Changing healthcare systems with simple technological solutions

(Credit: Unsplash)

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Abdul-Rahman Toufik, a medical student from Ghana. He is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Healthcare according to wikipedia is the maintenance or improvements of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Healthcare is delivered by health professionals in allied health fields. The healthcare system has been known for its effective care for patients. The healthcare system can be changed with some technological solutions such as digitalizing folders, patients getting access to healthcare in the comfort of their homes and using electronic means of payment.

First and foremost is digitalizing folders or patient data- base. Patient-related data is one of the most overwhelming aspects of healthcare. With each new addition to the patient database, the existing pool of data becomes still bigger. Consequently, it becomes even tougher to manage this data. As much as we may expect the existing traditional infrastructure to manage and secure the data, it is only an unrealistic expectation.Not only the storage but also the retrieval of this patient data, when needed, is a challenge that the hospitals need to address. Data overload and mismanagement often lead to situations like wrong diagnoses, compromise in data security, improper treatment, lapsed appointments, and failure to keep up with the changes in progress or regression of the patient’s condition, etc. The implications can be catastrophic for both doctors as well as patients.The healthcare technology solution to this challenge lies in cloud-based data systems and mobile portals. These solutions provide healthcare professionals with real-time access to patient-related data like registrations, medical history, diagnoses, treatments, appointments, and more.And since the storage and retrieval are cloud-based, the records are updated in real-time and secured properly.

Also, patients can have access to healthcare even in the comfort of their homes. For decades, medical care around the world has looked more or less the same – making an appointment and visiting the doctor -turning healthcare into an in-person, at-the-hospital experience for almost everyone.Patient access to healthcare sets the baseline for all patient encounters with the healthcare industry. When patients cannot access their healthcare partner and do not receive medical care, they cannot build relationships with them. continue to grow the flexibility and performance abilities of these remote-oriented platforms. This creates a reliable experience for medical experts to provide care and advice to patients from miles away.With mobile healthcare, telemedicine aims to raise the level of healthcare with wearables and smartphones to track health. Telemedicine offers enrolment of patients in remote monitoring projects, use of mobile apps, video conferencing, and emails for the counseling and treatment. Moreover, virtual access technologies have the potential to enable remote monitoring and care, along with better real-time communication with physicians.

Last but not the least is that the healthcare facilities can employ electronic ways of receiving payment from patients. Patients go through the trouble to pay after they have received treatments. They have to join a long queue to make payments. When the healthcare facility employs the electronic way of receiving payments, they will not have to go through a lot and it can save the healthcare facility from embezzlement.

In a nutshell, the healthcare system can be changed using simple technological solutions such as  digitalizing folders, patients getting access to healthcare in the comfort of their homes and using electronic means of payment. With this, the healthcare system will be better and patients will feel at ease when visiting there.

About the author

Abdul-Rahman Toufik comes from Ghana. He completed ANGEL Educational Complex junior high school in 2012 and proceeded to complete Konongo Odumasi senior high school in 2015. He is currently a third year medical student at Sumy State University, Ukraine and the academic committee chairman for the national Union for Ghanaian Students in Sumy.