The term "telehealth" simply means the use of communication technology to enhance the delivery of healthcare. It is a wide-ranging concept with many real-world applications. A common example of telehealth in practice is the digital consultations that doctors increasingly perform for their patients remotely via a video connection. In addition to cutting costs, this enables patients who have difficulty reaching a doctor in-person – for example, rural residents of the elderly – to instead connect with their providers via the web.
Arguably, telehealth's most exciting development has been the remote performance of surgery using fifth-generation (5G) internet connections. Whereas 4G is too slow to allow real-time surgery digitally directed from miles away, 5G offers that option. Surgeons in China recently successfully pulled off brain surgery on a Parkinson's Disease patient from hundreds of miles away using a 5G connection.
Healthcare Apps
Apps that promote better health may be the way to better living in the future. Visiting the doctor's office for your checkup presents logistical hurdles that only healthcare apps can address. Even the best doctors, who only see patients for a few minutes, cannot get a complete picture of their patient's health because they do not have the luxury of observing their behaviors, practices, and biological responses over long periods. That's where apps come in. They can monitor a patient's vital signs, record physical activity, measure sleep quality, and so much more.
Digital Records Storage
Many providers are switching to cloud services that allow secure storage for patient records in a cloud for instant retrieval and lower administrative costs to cut costs and eliminate the mountains of paperwork associated with healthcare record-keeping requirements. Digital records storage also facilitates big data gathering. As we move forward, we're sure to see even more stunning developments enabled by technological progress in the healthcare industry.