Many of us have had to deal with trying to decipher what a physician has written on a prescription or other health form. It may seem like just another funny anecdote, however it can be a serious matter when doctors’ prescriptions are incorrectly interpreted and the wrong medication administered. That is why many health care providers are now switching to digital solutions within the medical field and in turn reducing errors and mistakes caused by common issues like handwriting.
Physicians like Dr. Brendan Bryne are heading the digital revolution in the medical sector with companies like Wolf Medical Systems. Bryne’s firm is the largest Canadian electronic medical records provider and was bought up by TELUS in 2012. Other players are also jumping into the ehealth sector and the segment has a lot of potential for Canada’s aging populace and our economy.
Founding director of the Faculty of Medicine’s ehealth Strategy Office at the University of B.C., Dr. Kendall Ho, is obviously an expert in the area. He believes there are three major trends in ehealth that will define the near future of the industry. He says that the first major trend is mobile technology and its effect on medical care, comparing it to how online banking has changed the banking sector. He adds that, “How do we start moving from the historical context of let’s go see a doctor, a nurse, or go to a hospital to how do I leverage technology to bring this expertise around me. It’s going to be a fundamental shift and the technology is helping us do that.”
Mobile technology can be used for the remote monitoring of patients by doctors and medical staff. Telus Health is working on a project in France which monitors people with kidney disease. The participants are given a tablet through which they record data readings and manage medication. They then get online and pass along the data to their health care experts.
The web will be second big trend according to Dr. Kendall Ho who states that patients will check up to five source of information and “harness collective knowledge.” This crowd sourcing technique will also be used by health professionals. He says that, “I’m not suggesting that individual patient’s crowdsource their treatment — health professionals are trained — but that health professionals crowd-sourcing together can lead to new treatments.” Dr. Ho goes on to say, “And patients crowd-sourcing with professionals can do research together. Those are the opportunities for us. Rather than a profession taking on the mandate, the vision, the duty to discover, I think on a system basis, how do we co-create.”
Another major trend will be ehealth solutions helping medical experts see and analyze global health populations. Dr. Ho also has a lot of say about social media and its use in medicine. He states that, “Five, 10 years down the road I think there is no question health services will be delivered, will be exchanged on social media. … The question is how do we go from here to there and how do we engage health professionals to get there.” He continues to say that, “Health professionals have to understand not only that we shouldn’t stay away from the web, from social media, but we should actively participate.”
Source: Vancouver Sun
Photo: CARP
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