Although COVID-19 has dominated the medical industry’s and world’s concern for months, science continues to move medicine forward—and beyond the pandemic. From improved implantable medical devices to innovative CPAP breakthroughs, the medical industry has had plenty of achievements in the last year and the upcoming year.
Here are some of the most impactful medical innovations that are reshaping how hospitals operate in 2021.
Mobile Connected Pacemaker Devices
Implantable medical devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators give electric impulses to the heart muscles, contracting them and pumping blood throughout the body. These innovations are used to prevent or treat arrhythmia or irregular heartbeats. Remotely monitoring these devices is crucial in ensuring optimal health. Traditionally, remote monitoring of these devices occurs through bedside consoles transmitting the pacemaker or defibrillator data to the doctor.
Just like how car stereos are continually improving to fit users’ preferences and convenience by making them more compact and powerful, Bluetooth-enabled pacemaker devices have made access to these medical devices easier. When used in conjunction with a mobile application, these devices enable patients to better insight into the health data from the pacemakers, transmitting the information to their doctors.
Electronic Health Records
Electronic health record (EHR) is an innovation that has drastically improved over the years, with big data, connectivity of devices, and the internet of things providing the latest information about patients at their point of care. In today’s digital age, how healthcare professionals handle patient data is changing for the better—at all fronts. Physicians and other medical providers can instantly pull up an EHR, allowing them to know a patient’s medical history in one click.
EHR is easing communications between different providers, and they’re shareable through devices and secure networks, allowing medical professionals to stay up-to-date with their patients with ease. The convenience of EHRs is appreciated by healthcare professionals worldwide, helping them update and expand upon their patients’ medical history. Plus, EHR has contributed to preventive care efforts, reducing medical errors by giving an easily readable and comprehensive overview of a patient’s medical history.
Because of the convenience and ease that it provides medical professionals, further development of EHRs will become more advanced over time, ensuring quality healthcare for patients and more manageable healthcare processes.
Remote Care
Remote patient care is resolving so many healthcare problems, using the convenience the internet of things (IoT) offers in transferring data between different devices. This innovative discovery provides comfort while ensuring patients get quality care. Remote care is made possible through using video conferencing technology, big data, and wearable clothing. Thanks to this innovation, doctors can now monitor and diagnose patients with ease, ensuring they only get the best possible treatment while staying at their home’s convenience.
Those with chronic conditions can get monitored at home, allowing them to keep their freedom and spend more time living life than worrying about their next appointment. With all these benefits, remote care will only continue to become more optimized, providing real-time communication anywhere and anytime—making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Precision Medicine
No patient is the same. Therefore, they shouldn’t be treated the same, medically—and this is where precision medicine comes in. It provides disease treatment and preventative measures based on a person’s unique environment, lifestyle, and genetics. Numerous environmental and genetic factors bring on particular medical conditions, and precision medicine helps detect diagnostic and molecular genetic testing conditions.
Essentially, precision medicine helps facilitate the preventative health practices necessary, reducing time and money spent on treatment.
Telemedicine
Although telemedicine isn’t exactly new, the medical industry has shone a light on it due to the ongoing pandemic. An increasingly virtual care model alongside increased consumer adoption came through the fundamental shifts in policies at governmental and private provider levels. Countries have moved quickly to reduce telemedicine’s barrier, understanding that these innovations can speed access to care while ensuring healthcare professionals and community members’ safety.
The new-found attention of telemedicine opened the floodgates for it, enabling new programs and expansion of existing networks.
Bubble CPAP
The breakthrough of the bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has successfully increased lung function in premature babies, giving them a fighting chance. The medical innovation blends and humidifies oxygen, then delivers it with Binasal prongs or a nasal mask. After that, the tubing’s distal end is immersed in water, allowing the gas to bubble through adjustable water depths to prevent excess pressure when breathing.
This medical innovation improves lung function and can prevent lung injuries caused by surfactants during manual mechanical ventilation.
The recent medical innovations mentioned aren’t only beneficial in streamlining operations, but they’re also great at promoting the overall health and wellness of the general population—saving millions of lives.
