Mobile Technology Saving Lives: Changing healthcare systems with simple technological solutions

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Faizan Akram is studying Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan. 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.

The 21st century brought a lot of comforts to the world while at the same time it brought bigger problems. Experts and economists observe shrink in the economy of developed countries. The government does not have much to offer to its public. One of the biggest problems that the world is facing right now is in the area of health. Cancer is affecting people more than ever. But, in my opinion, it is our privilege to share the modern world with technology companies. Because they have flooded the market with good phones at an affordable price.

In this busy world where we are facing inflation, some people can’t afford to make an appointment with the physician. Because good physicians tend to shell out one month’s salary of the poor. Coupling phones with the internet, we can search for the health problems we are facing. For example, symptoms like fever, chill, headache, nausea, and vomiting, google pops up with a link that I’m facing malaria. We have health apps reminding us to drink water, exercise, and take a healthy diet. Now the world is devising ways to make the health care system better than ever through the use of apps. They are also looking to make apps that can help to build coordination among doctors and even hospitals.

One of the most common problems in the world is alcohol consumption. It can also lead to alcoholism.  Annually 88000 people die from alcohol in the United States, making it one of the major leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. But, there are some apps which help the users to consume alcohol in a specific limit, so people can have positive change.  We are aware of how people take surveys. We generally go door to door or stand in a public place talking about people’s thoughts on a particular topic. But, now we are facing pandemic COVID-19. Taking surveys is now a hell of a job to do but surveys are being conducted online. It’s easy to use and in this way, we can do our job without going out of our place and thus promote the catchphrase “stay home stay safe”.

In the 20th century, the Spanish flu killed millions of people. But, now we have fewer figures of dead people. The mobile technology played a major role in the prevention of transmission of COVID-19.   The social media is dominating the world of the internet. They are easier to use and we can find almost every person on it. These also include doctors and other healthcare staff. By developing a good interaction with them, we can have so much information about medicine. Moreover, there are also groups of doctors who are available voluntarily to help people free of cost.

Technology is the key to enhancing the quality of life for everyone in the continuum of life from newborns to senior citizens. Technology is indeed the catalyst that can rapidly transform healthcare and the practice of medicine. Moreover, technology is essential for the healthcare industry to meet its challenges discussed earlier. Therefore, any technology to minimize the loss of human life and/or enhance the quality of life has a value that is priceless. In a nutshell mobile technology have revolutionized the world in the area of health as well. Making our access easier to information about disease, their prevention and access to some top physicians as well.

About the author

Faizan Akram is studying Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan. He is affiliated with the many biomedical international organizations. He is currently serving as a content editor for NovelMeds. NovelMeds is an official magazine of Disease Control & Research Centre (DCRC), its content is created mainly by the medical students throughout the globe with contributions from NovelMeds Partners and externals. NovelMeds strives to provide incentives for scientific dialogue and enhance the understanding of several aspects of health, disease, and life in the frame of sustainability, prompting consecutive research and continuous progress in all areas of Health. He has participated in several national and international scientific conferences, seminars, and hands-on workshops and also performing duties as an ambassador for more than 50 international organizations.