Tag Archive for: healthcare technology

January 2023 Digital Health Roundup

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Science and technology are working together to help with cancer screening and treatment. Machine learning uses artificial intelligence to process data in large quantities with more efficiency and accuracy. A new multicancer screening test has been developed to detect cancer in early stages. This test uses a small amount of blood in combination with machine learning to screen for cancer. With the help of machine learning, a new genetic test has been helpful to test whether a specific cancer treatment will be effective in ovarian cancer patients. New technology is now available to expedite necessary surgery for lung cancer patients.

New Multi-Cancer Test Can Detect Disease at Early Stages with Small Amounts of Blood, Urine

Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have demonstrated that a previously untested method can detect multiple types of cancers early on, including types that are currently difficult to detect reports StudyFinds. While studying metabolism, scientists discovered glycosaminoglycan, which is crucial for cell growth and repair. This sugar has been found to be a biomarker for early cancer detection. Scientists use a small amount of blood or urine with machine learning algorithms to detect this metabolite. It has been shown to help detect all 14 different cancers in their early stages. This test is a simple method that costs less to produce, making it more easily available for patients. Detecting cancer earlier allows for earlier access to treatment for cancer patients which improves patient outcomes. Click to read the full story.

Genetic Test Identifies Ovarian Cancer Patients Likely to Benefit from PARP Inhibitors

The genetic test helps to identify patients who do not benefit from the drug, thus avoiding unnecessary treatment and the adverse effects associated with the drug reports Technology Networks. The PARP inhibitors used to treat this cancer have the potential to cause serious side effects. This drug is used to treat more than half of patients with ovarian cancer. The test checks for a deficiency in specific DNA repair pathways; these are the patients that have tumor types that are sensitive to the PARP inhibitors. Patients that can have these inhibitors can use this therapy for treatment of their ovarian cancer as well as maintenance treatment after surgery. This test uses a genetic test with the help of algorithms from machine learning to guide the patient’s treatment. Doctors use this test to give the proper treatment for the cancer, thereby extending the patient’s life. Click to read the full story.

Game-Changing Tech Means You Could get Surgery the Same Day You’re Diagnosed with Lung Cancer

It can take several weeks to diagnose, and then treat someone with surgery, for lung cancer. But for some patients, INOVA Health System can do both procedures on the same day, thanks to new cutting-edge robotic technology reports NBC Bay Area. This process involves doctors using a bronchoscopy with a biopsy. It allows for staging the lymph nodes and surgery if needed, all in one day. Patients usually must wait weeks or months for the results of a biopsy as well as scheduling a surgery. This wait time causes the patients added stress and anxiety. The expense to the patient is also less by having the procedure done in one day versus paying for two hospital visits. To qualify for this procedure, the patient needs to have findings of a lung nodule that has not spread anywhere. Click to read the full story.

November 2022 Digital Health Roundup

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November is full of promise using science to help in the fight against cancer. Scientists have made genetically engineered bacteria robots to release cancer fighting chemicals using magnetic force. Engineers have developed artificial intelligence to help predict the recurrence of a deadly cancer, melanoma. Pancreatic cancer is another deadly cancer that is difficult to treat. Scientists have developed a radioactive implant to help doctors treat pancreatic cancer.

Scientists Use Magnets to Deliver Cancer-Killing ‘Micro-Robots’ Into the Body

Scientists have conceived of a new way to deliver cancer-killing compounds, called enterotoxins, to tumors using bionic bacteria that are steered by a magnetic field, according to a report by Invers published last week reports InterestingEngineering.com . The bacteria hung down a specific tumor and releases naturally produced anti-cancer chemicals to kill the cancer. The scientists use aquatic bacteria because of its magnetostatic quality, it has tiny iron crystals inside that can be guided by magnetic force.

They made genetically engineered bacteria robots whose nanoparticles make them release the chemicals that fight cancer on cue. It is a slimy feces shaped robot that consists of polyvinyl alcohol, borax, and particles of neodymium magnets to move the slime around. It uses biohybrid bacteria. Some cancers can’t be operated on due to the tumor’s location; this treatment offers hope for those types of tumors. These tiny robots have been tested on mice and shown to have three times more precision in the delivery of the biohybrid bacteria to kill the cancer. Find more information here.

AI Could Help Cancer Patients Avoid a Deadly Recurrence

AI could help doctors identify which skin cancer patients are at high-risk of a melanoma recurrence before their initial cancer is even treated- giving them a head start to recommend more aggressive treatments that can prevent a recurrence reports Freethink.com . Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer, and recurrence is often caught in late stages making it harder to treat. In the early stages of skin cancer, it is often just removed and not treated with drugs. The drugs used to treat melanoma are immune checkpoint inhibitors and often can have serious side effects.

If doctors know ahead of time that patients were at risk of recurrence, they could treat the cancer more aggressively with those drugs. A team from Massachusetts General Hospital is training and validating algorithms to predict recurrence of melanoma within five years for patients. They used electronic health records and data from over 1,700 early-stage melanomas to train the AI. They found the two best predictors of recurrence are tumor thickness and the rate of cancer cell division. The AI model was found to have a sensitivity of 76% so the team is trying to improve the algorithm to be more specific. The AI shows great promise for helping doctors fight skin cancers. Find more information here.

A Radioactive Tumor Implant is a Major Breakthrough for Treating Pancreatic Cancer

In what can be called a quantum leap in medical science, the most successful treatment for pancreatic cancer ever recorded in mouse models is here. Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed an approach that completely eliminates tumors in 80 percent of mice across various model types, as opposed to most trials that solely halt the growth of such tumors reports InterestingEngineering.com .

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths. It is currently hard to treat due to its location and the effects on the surrounding tissue. Scientists have developed an implant that has radioactive iodine-131 that is surrounded by a gel like depot. They can put the implant into the tumor to emit radiation that penetrates the tumor without reaching surrounding tissue. In mice models, scientists use the implant in combination with giving a chemotherapy drug- Paclitaxel. These two together have given good results and are moving into other phases of clinical trials. Scientists believe that the constant radiation to the pancreas makes the drug interact with the cancer in a way that has a stronger effect on the tumor. Find more information here.

There’s an App for That…Or There Should Be: Utilizing Technology for Better Health Outcomes

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Health literacy has always been a passion project of mine ever since I was diagnosed with cancer. I stand by the notion that plain language and clear communication leads to better health outcomes. However, communicating with our care team isn’t always easy. How many of us have gone into an appointment only to leave the office 10 minutes later, wondering what happened and what our copay went to? Were all of our issues and questions addressed? 

This is where we have to come in as advocates for our own health, and below are a few ways to do this: 

  • Try and focus on one ailment per appointment 
  • Write down a list of questions you want addressed prior to the appointment 
  • Ask questions during the appointment – you are the expert of your body and health 
  • If something doesn’t make sense, ask for the information to be explained in another way. Patients are found to be more compliant if they know: 
    • How to take their medications properly 
    • Why specific blood tests and imaging are ordered (i.e. if they’re necessary) 

How do we keep track of all of this information, though? There are patient portals that keep track of our appointments and records, but those can often be hard to navigate, and they lack the capability of being able to enter our own information (i.e. about how we’re feeling). Additionally, different health systems have different portals, leading not only to lost passwords, but a missed opportunity for integrated healthcare. This is essentially senseless for cancer patients who have to keep track of multiple appointments and medications, all while trying to keep afloat in a system that wasn’t built for patients and their caregivers. 

However, there’s a role technology can play here. I’ve heard of patients carrying around large binders of their records from appointment to appointment, but if we’re being honest, I don’t believe a physician or other member of a patient’s care team is going to take the time to go through it. Instead, utilizing the power of the device that we’re constantly carrying around and looking at may be the way to go (in addition to a smaller folder or journal for those that are comfortable with paper). 

If we think about it, there’s an app for everything, and having an app to keep track of our cancer journey should be no different. What should this app be able to do? Here are a few things that I think are especially important: 

  • Keep track of: 
    • Medications (dosage, picture of what it looks like, how to take it and what to do if you accidentally miss a dose or take more than what is prescribed, ability to refill) 
    • Blood work (results and what they mean [featuring a scale of what’s low vs. normal vs. high], what to ask your doctor about in terms of next steps) 
    • Imaging (results and what they mean, what to ask your doctor in terms of next steps) 
  • Ability to connect with all members of your care team (primary care doctor, oncologist, nurse navigator even if they work in different health systems) 
  • Ability to connect with caregivers and share information with them 
  • A diary to describe daily thoughts, symptoms, and side effects, flagging specific keywords that can alert a member of your care team 
  • A calendar with appointments (date/time, office location, directions) 
  • Tips to assist with mental health (i.e. offering local or national support groups [both virtual and in-person], counseling that accepts insurance and/or is offered on a sliding scale) 
  • Exercise routines featuring different forms of exercise (yoga, pilates, HIIT, weightlifting, playing a sport, walking and running, etc.) based on you’re feeling side effect- and energy-wise 
  • Information about nutrition through the different phases of a cancer journey (pre-treatment vs. in-treatment vs. post-treatment) that includes recipes 
  • Most importantly, all of this information should be in plain language that’s easy to understand in whatever language the patient is most comfortable reading 

Having an app that features all of these capabilities, I believe, would push the needle forward in patient care, not only creating better health outcomes, but a more satisfied patient. What would you add to the list? 

Digital Health Roundup: June 2021

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Digital healthcare is creating a better experience for patients and employees; one hospital has the data to prove it. Seniors, in particular, benefit from telehealth, and a bipartisan group of senators is trying to ensure that telehealth access is here to stay, but data privacy is a concern that experts say needs to be addressed.

Mobile healthcare apps may have some serious privacy problems, reports mobihealthnews.com. A study of more than 20,000 medical, health and fitness apps showed that the apps collect personal user information, but that it is not always secure, and the privacy practices are not always made clear. The study showed that 88 percent of mobile health apps could collect and share user data that includes contact information and user location. While the study also revealed that only 4 percent of the apps actually share user data, experts remain concerned about the privacy and data collection risks. Get more information here.

When it comes to virtual visits with their primary care doctors, a new study shows that telehealth is an effective form of care for senior citizens, says healthcareitnews.com. The study analyzed more than 300,000 telehealth visits which showed that virtual healthcare visits were successful in treating and solving the needs of patients in most cases. Researchers found that seniors were most likely to use telehealth visits for upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, and skin conditions. The study is encouraging for the future of care for seniors, as the effectiveness of telehealth visits is important for patients with mobility and other challenges that may prevent them from being seen by a provider in person. Learn more here.

Lawmakers are aware of the benefits of telehealth to seniors and those in rural areas, and they are trying to protect them. A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill this month that would continue access to telehealth for elderly and rural patients, reports pymnts.com. The Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act aims to permanently expand patient access to telehealth. The bill would allow healthcare providers to offer virtual care, including consultations through telephone calls, to Medicare patients anywhere in the country. While the demand for telehealth is no longer as high as it was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand is still higher than it was pre-pandemic especially in rural areas where access to care is often limited. Learn more here.

Digital healthcare technology is not only beneficial to patients in their own homes, but also during in-person visits. A New York hospital is using digital technology to improve patient satisfaction ratings, reports healthtechmagazine.net. Since 2018, Lenox Hill Hospital has been using a digital rounding platform to gather patient information and coordinate patient visits with nurses, the food and nutrition team, and other staff members. Collecting patient information in the digital rounding app from all staff members who visit the patient helps the teams anticipate and address patient needs. Hospital leadership says the system makes patient interaction proactive rather than reactive. The rounding platform was built with the input of nurses and has led to improvement in better experiences for patients and employees. Learn more about the Lenox Hill digital rounding program here.

How Has Cancer Research Evolved in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

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How Has Cancer Research Evolved in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

What have been some benefits for cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic? Expert. Dr. Shaji Kumar describes some of the clinical trial changes that have been born from the pandemic to improve access to care and to decrease the risk of infection for cancer patients.

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Transcript:

Mary Leer:

Are there any noticeable trends born out of the pandemic that will be or could be a benefit to the future of cancer care or research?

Dr. Shaji Kumar:

That’s a very important question, and I think we always learn from adversity, and I think this is going to be no different. I think, especially when the pandemic hit back in the spring of last year, we all had to think fast on our feet to figure out how best to continue to tell about the best care for the cancer patients without compromising the care in any way. And we knew that bringing the patients back into the clinic at the same rate we did before the pandemic would expose them to significant risk for infection, so how do we continue with treatment? There have been very different things people have tried…one of them is to try and get the medications to patients at home. If they are on IV medications, they can be changed to something that’s comparable that can be given by mouth. We already did that for some patients. For some patients who used to come to the clinic very often, so we figure out is there a way for them to get some of those testing done in a clinic much closer to home, so they can avoid the travel, they can avoid being in a bigger city, they can avoid being in a bigger institution, again, reducing the risk of exposure, and then you look at those numbers and then decide on the next course of treatment. We converted many of the clinic visits to video visits. Nothing is as good as having the patient right in front of you, but this is the best we could do under the circumstances.

And I think that helped. So I think the clinical trials was a big problem because in many of those trials were done in a very rigid fashion with very little variability allowed within the protocols. And everybody loosened from the clinical trial sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies, the institutional review board, the investigators to try and build flexibility into those clinical trial structures to allow patients to continue to be on those trials, So what does that mean for the future? I think the video visits are here to stay, I think we will continue to utilize that and bring patients back to the clinic only when it’s absolutely needed. I think the clinical trials will have in-built flexibility so that patients can enroll on clinical trials remotely, they can potentially be given some of those medications at home, maybe it would be something where we would check into the patients on a regular basis to make sure things are proceeding in the right way. I think there are increasingly technologies that will allow the patients to communicate in real time with the care team and also provide many of the data that we need through iPads or iPhones, Apple watches, whatever we end up using.

So that is that I think that technology will rapidly take off in the next few years. So I think a lot of the care of the patients with cancer in general, and particularly cancer patients, is going to look very different five years from now, because of all these things that we have always thought of and we thought, “Yeah it will take time to implement, it’s difficult.” Now we figure it out in a year. We can do a lot of those things.

Jeff Bushnell:

What’s the final takeaway for the average cancer patient and caregiver, how to get through this? What’s your bottom line for us all?

Dr. Shaji Kumar:

Your cancer treatment comes first, let’s not compromise on it, let us do it as safe as we can by observing all the instructions in terms of social distancing, masking, avoiding gatherings, getting vaccinated, and make sure you keep connected with your care team. You don’t have to be in the clinic to do that. There’s a variety of different tools, I think every hospital has options to either through their medical records to message their care team, or set up video visits and so forth.

So we want to be in a state where it was before the pandemic in terms of your communications, but use the technology, so we can decrease the risk of exposure without compromising the quality of care.

March 2021 Digital Health Roundup

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Is technology making healthcare easier or harder to access? It turns out, it depends on who you ask. While those who have easy access to digital resources are benefitting from the influx of technology in healthcare, many of the most vulnerable people in our population could get left behind as the technological wave pushes through the healthcare industry. There’s no stopping the wave, though, with advances in diagnosing skin cancer and healthcare education, technology is changing healthcare as we know it right before our eyes, and research shows that most patients are okay with it.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a surge in digital healthcare, but it has also led to conversations about the digital divide: the vast space between those who have easy access to technology and those who do not. At medpagetoday.com, David Nash, MD, MBA, FACP takes an interesting look at the increased use of technology in healthcare and the digital divide it creates for some patients, especially the elderly, noting that a patient’s connectivity might need to be considered a vital sign that doctors routinely ask patients at every visit. Read more about this perspective and who is least likely to utilize digital technology in healthcare here.

However, there is more to consider at forbes.com where Kal Vepuri, founder and CEO of Hero, says that technology is finally democratizing healthcare and that it is patient driven. The influx of the tech industry into healthcare is thought to have advantages such as making healthcare more convenient, and helping patients stay healthy and connected – even for the elderly, says Vepuri, as long as the tech companies keep seniors in mind when developing healthcare technology. Read more here.

The good news is that when patients have the access to healthcare technology, they are okay with using it. A recent study published at jamanetwork.com found that patients would be okay with robots performing some medical tasks in the hospital emergency room setting. Participants in the study were asked if they would find it acceptable for a robot to perform tasks such as taking vital signs, facilitating a telehealth interview, obtaining nasal and oral swabs, and turning a patient over in bed. Most participants said that using robotic systems to facilitate healthcare would be acceptable, and of the patients who interacted with a robotic system for a triage interview, the majority reported that their experience was equal to the quality of a person-to-person interview. Learn more about the study here.

Patients aren’t the only ones being impacted by technology in healthcare. Doctors and medical students have access to a number of new learning tools, says techgenyz.com. Technology is impacting healthcare education in a variety of ways. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, computer assisted learning, and wearable technologies are all transforming the way healthcare is learned and practiced. Find more information about how each technology is used in healthcare education here

The traditional way surgeons are trained is over a century old, but technology is changing all that. In an interview with Dr. Justin Barad, surgeon, CEO and co-founder of Osso VR, techrepublic.com explores how virtual reality technology is changing the way surgeons are being trained. Barad says that Osso VR offers better opportunity for doctors to train and assess themselves and learn new procedures, much like pilots practice with simulated situations. Research shows that when people train with virtual reality technology, their performance goes up by 230 to 300 percent, which will ultimately help improve patient outcomes. Learn more about Osso VR and how it is being used to improve surgical training here.

Researchers are also continuing to use technology to find ways to diagnose cancer in its early stages. Sciencedaily.com reports that new technology is helping to better diagnose melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have been developed to help in diagnosing suspicious pigmented lesions (SPLs) on the skin that can indicate cancer, but because they are trained to look at skin lesions individually rather than compare multiple lesions as a dermatologist does, the CAD systems haven’t had much effect on diagnosing melanoma. However, a new CAD system can now use a photo of a patient’s skin to successfully distinguish SPLs from non-suspicious lesions with 90 percent accuracy. The researchers have made their CAD system algorithm available to others and hope to eventually turn the system into a product that could be used by primary care doctors all over the world. Learn more here.

How Will the Medical Industry Change in the Coming Years?

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Under the influence of technology, healthcare is becoming a more complex system. By introducing features such as: 3D-printing, Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and VR/AR, it is critical to acquaint yourself with the latest healthcare developments to understand and control digital healthcare technologies. 

There are a lot of factors at play in the modifications of healthcare. Having a profound understanding of this growing intricacy will facilitate comprehension of what’s to come. With the help of USMLE prep, the medical community keeps growing with the addition of new students and ideas.

Which Factors Contribute to Change in the Medical Industry

According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), justification of the development of healthcare is implicated by several factors such as:

  • Health insurance coverage: While insurance coverage is an assurance of more medical services, modern trends of insurers and employers place a fiscal obligation on patients in the form of deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, which brings about slow growth rates
  • Healthcare product and service prices: It is evident that the increase in pricing of medical products and services has impacted healthcare spending growth
  • Demographics and patient idiosyncrasies: Variations in the health status and age of the population significantly affects how much is spent on healthcare
  • Market capacity: Healthcare providers are known for consolidating at a rapid rate. Incorporating others gives a more significant market power over insurers
  • Technology: This is one factor that has the most critical effect on healthcare change, according to MedPAC

 How Technology Will Better Healthcare

In the medical world, digital technology will result in extraordinary achievements. It could help revamp unsustainable healthcare systems into more sustainable ones. Technology is shaping healthcare in the following ways:

Robotics

This is one of the rapidly growing healthcare fields. Its developments vary from robot companions through surgical robots until pharmabotics, exoskeletons, and disinfectant robots. In 2019 Europe saw its first exoskeleton-aided surgery that enabled a tetraplegic man to control an exoskeleton with his brain. These sci-fi suits have many more applications that help both the patient and the caregiver.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence has the absolute potential to completely redesign healthcare. AI algorithms can design treatment plans, mine medical records, and develop drugs faster than any medical professional on the healthcare palette.

3D-Printing

3D-printing is capacitated to give rise to miracles in all facets of healthcare. We can print: artificial limbs, bio tissues, blood vessels, pills, amongst other things, with its help.

Healthcare Trackers, Wearables, and Sensors

This equipment is excellent for getting to understand ourselves better and reestablish control over our individual lives. These devices help you manage your: stress levels, weight, cognitive capabilities, and overall fit and energetic level. The real advantage of these tech-fueled appliances is that it centralizes the patient’s care.

Augmented Reality

Users of augmented reality do not lose touch with reality, and it ingrains information into the eyesight as fast as possible. These unique aspects allow AR to become a driving force in therapy for the receivers and providers of healthcare.

Medical Tricorder

As far as instant solutions are concerned, this gadget is considered every medic dream for an almighty and omnipotent device. It is a handheld device that enables you to diagnose and analyze every disease by scanning a patient.

Nanotechnology

We are on the brink of a nanomedicine era. Soon, nanodevices and nanoparticles will be critical; tiny surgeries, drug delivery systems, or cancer treatment.

Revolutionizing Drug Development

The procedure of formulating new drugs is long and expensive. There are techniques to enhance drug development with designs ranging from silico trials to artificial intelligence. New strategies and technologies are already dominating the pharmaceutical landscape and will continue to do so in years to come.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is altering the lives of patients and also physicians. It is possible that in the future, we will watch surgeries as if you wielded the scalpel, or you could travel home or to any other part of the world from your hospital bed.

Something to Think About

Technology is becoming more and more rooted in medicine, and it is essential to have an idea of the future methods of implementing healthcare with digital health on the rise.

5 Technologies Shaping the Future of Healthcare

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From implants to self-diagnosis, innovation is growing in the medical industry, and can soon transform healthcare all together. Although technology has already evolved since the development of the microscope back in the 17th century, the health industry is still welcoming more advances to medical and surgical tools, as well as new ways to make effective medicines and vaccines.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the five ways that technology is pushing the medical industry to another level, and shaping the future of healthcare.

1. 3D-Printed Prosthetics

“Prosthetics are one of the most requested products in the medical industry, especially with amputee patients,” says Michael Keener, a business writer at Boom Essays and Academized. “And with 3D printing, it’s now easier to create prosthetic limbs, and make these products more accessible to people worldwide. Ever since the success of the 3D-printed mini heart, now 3D printers are a must-have.” 

2. Biosensing Contact Lens

Recently introduced by UNIST’s team of researchers, biosensing contact lens will be able to detect glucose levels in diabetic patients, whenever there are tears in the eye. Having built-in transparent electronics, the lens, fortunately, won’t bother people who wear them. Sounds amazing, right?

And although the lenses aren’t in the market yet, UNIST is hopeful that they’ll soon be available in the near future. 

3. Virtual Reality (VR)

VR is no longer reserved for video games. In fact, both patients and doctors can use VR to see what’s going on – whether surgeons are using it for noninvasive procedures, or patients want a virtual escape while they’re recovering from surgery in a hospital bed. 

In addition, VR software like Osso VR and ImmersiveTouch help future surgeons train for the real deal, and lets experienced surgeons and physicians perfect their operations and methods. According to a recent study from Harvard Business Review, VR-trained surgeons did around 230% better in their overall performance – faster and more accurate in performing surgeries – than traditionally-trained surgeons.

VR also makes surgery and post-operation less painful for patients. With VR being as noninvasive as possible, patients suffering from things like gastrointestinal, cardiac, and neurological problems find them less painful when using VR to visualize soothing images and scenarios to distract them from what’s going on. Even women in labor can use VR to distract them from labor pains. With VR, the hospital experience is less stressful for patients.

4. Wearable Trackers And Sensors

With wearable trackers like Fitbit, it has never been easier for people to track their steps and heart rate. But pretty soon, these types of trackers and sensors will be able to detect one’s health status, so that people can take better control of their lives. Whether you’re looking to manage your weight, have lower stress levels, check on your body cognitively, or find a good level to be fit and active, wearable trackers and sensors will soon be able to do those things.

Here are some of the technological advances to date:

  • Fitbit Ionic – Lets you monitor your sleep, and even tracks your workout.
  • Polar H10 – Helps you find the best exercises for you, and fine-tune your current practices. (Wear this with the Fitbit Ionic, if you desire.)
  • The Muse Headband – Helps you focus on the major things that make your meditation session successful.

Now more than ever, it’s easier for people to track their health, and get a better hold of what they would need to do to stay healthy and active. 

5. Nanotech

“Nanomedicine will soon be a reality, if not now,” says Hollie Kelly, a project manager at Bestbritishessays and Academ advisor. “People are already seeing nanoparticles and nanodevices as our drug delivery systems, tiny surgeons, and cancer treatment tools.”

For example, there is already talk about smart pills like the PillCam, which is a noninvasive, electronic pill that can relay diagnostic information about the patient and or release necessary medication via smartphone. The medical industry is hoping that these smart pills can take biopsy samples for further analysis, or take the place of traditional, invasive surgeries.

Conclusion

With technology already changing our world at a rapid pace, healthcare will surely benefit from innovations from technological advances. Although these technological advances may not show up overnight, you can rest assured that doctors, physicians, surgeons, and developers are working towards these solutions, and promising a brighter future in healthcare.

Molly Crockett writes for Ukservicesreviews.com and Big Assignments. She also writes articles about writing and editing on Best Coursework Services. As a marketing writer, she shares her unique lifestyle tips and personal development advice with her audience.

Uber Health and Five More Groundbreaking Ideas Changing Healthcare Delivery

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Healthcare in the U.S. is an industry that’s ripe for innovation. From a convoluted insurance system to a complicated chain of care to a lack of price transparency, many factors combine to create a healthcare system that’s slow, expensive, inefficient, and difficult to navigate.

But some companies are fast at work addressing the many pain points of patient care. Whether they’re small startups or large companies we already know, there are plenty of businesses out there working to make a difference in the healthcare space. Below, we’ve rounded up six ideas that are changing how healthcare is delivered today.

Uber Health

Every year, 3.6 million Americans miss doctor appointments due to a lack of reliable transportation, contributing to a high rate of no-shows, reaching as much as 30 percent nationwide. At the beginning of March, troubled ride-share company Uber announced the launch of Uber Health, a new initiative that partners with healthcare organizations to provide reliable transportation to patients in need. Here’s how it works: a coordinator schedules the Uber ride on behalf of the patient, and the patient communicates with the driver via text or call to facilitate the logistics.

The HIPAA-compliant system helps reduce appointment cancellations and saves the healthcare organizations money (as compared to using taxis or other transportation options). “Uber has helped us drastically reduce appointment cancellations. It’s great to be able to quickly request a ride with so that in-need patients can make an appointment they’d otherwise miss,” said Pete Celano, Director of Consumer Health Initiatives at MedStar Health, in the release announcing the nationwide launch of Uber Health.

Zocdoc Insurance Checker

Insurance is notoriously cryptic and confusing, and health insurance is even more difficult to decipher than other kinds of policies. How do you know what your health insurance will cover and what it won’t? Can you be 100 percent certain that a new doctor is in your network? To answer these questions, the online medical scheduling platform Zocdoc launched their Insurance Checker at the very end of last year. Patients take a picture of their insurance card, then Zocdoc extracts the important data and determines whether or not a doctor is in-network under the patient’s plan. This makes it easier for the patient to schedule visits and cuts down on surprise out-of-network charges.

Nomad Health

Have you ever been sick, only to discover that the earliest available appointment at your primary care physician’s office is in two weeks? Instead of waiting, you can call up a doctor, speak to one within a few minutes, and get a diagnosis and even a prescription, all without leaving the comfort of your home. While telemedicine has been around in some form or fashion for years (early leader Teladoc was founded in 2002), startups have recently jumped into the telemedicine space, hoping to provide a new twist on the concept of a virtual doctor visit.

The startup Nomad Health seeks to combine this telemedicine idea with the gig economy, allowing doctors to contract for virtual freelance via videoconferencing appointments. The service also includes postings for full-time positions, as well as travel nurse positions. Like employees in other industries, medical professionals are seeking more flexible and remote work schedules, and Nomad Health hopes to seamlessly connect them with these very opportunities while providing convenient video appointments for patients.

Osso VR

For decades, cadaver dissections have been the primary way of training surgical residents. But a host of new companies are using virtual reality (VR) technology to train future healthcare providers in a variety of situations. Osso VR, a startup that closed $2 million in funding last year, uses realistic simulations to teach orthopedic surgeons new techniques. Unlike cadavers, which often can only be used once, surgeons can practice VR simulations over and over again until they achieve proficiency.

Not only does VR make it cheaper to train surgeons, it also means that patients are being operated on by more experienced residents who have performed dozens of simulations (rather than just a handful). “In med school, they say ‘see one [surgery], do one, teach one’…but the truth is you need to do 50 to 100 cases for proficiency,” Justin Barad, Osso VR CEO and Founder, told Forbes.

Google’s Launchpad Studios

Google’s new Launchpad Studios program matches machine learning startups with Silicon Valley experts — and the inaugural class of seven startups all focus on addressing healthcare and biotech problems using artificial intelligence. American and international startups Augmedix, Cytovale, Nanowear, Owkin, Portal Telemedicina, Byteflies, and BrainQ joined the effort.

Each startup seeks to use machine learning in a slightly different context; for example, BrainQ identifies brain wave patterns in patients after neurological disorders to help aid in treatment, while Nanowear uses nanosensors in smart textiles to gather patient data and improve diagnostics. Google plans to establish other tracks for Launchpad Studios, but the fact that the company chose healthcare and biotech to be the first one indicates that Google is prioritizing healthcare innovation.

Forward

The year is 2030. You check in at your doctor’s office, and before you enter an exam room, you get a full body scan, and its data is fed to an AI algorithm that can spot patterns that might indicate health problems. By the time you make it to the exam room, your doctor has your data queued up, ready to review it with you and compare it to your genetic testing results. Before you leave, you’re given a wearable that will continuously relay health data back to your provider.

Sound futuristic? This process is already happening at Forward, a new kind of doctor’s office that has locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Not every doctor’s appointment can be done virtually through telemedicine, and Forward wants to make sure that when you do go to visit your doctor in person, the experience is seamless and digitally integrated.

The Future of Health

These concepts are just a sampling of the many new startups and innovations in the healthcare space. The future of healthcare is bright, primarily because these thinkers are funneling their efforts into problem-solving solutions that make the healthcare system smarter, more user-friendly and more well-connected.