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New Technology in and Out of the Doctors Office

A smartphone with the words prescription and technology on it.

New Technology in and Out of the Doctors Office

As technology keeps on developing it finds new ways to make our lives easier. Recently technology has taken on the medical industry. Health related applications have been around for a while but with Apple’s recent introduction of their new operating system, iOS8, it will be easier than ever for patients and doctors to use this technology.

The new operating system will feature something called HealthKit. This will allow all the apps on a patient’s phones to share information with each other in order to create an overall health profile. This new system will also have a feature in which users can choose to share information from these apps with healthcare professionals. A doctor would be able to receive a patients heart rate, blood sugar, cholesterol and other information in order to reach out to the patient and provide faster care.

While iOS 8 is still in the testing phase this change in the way we use technology has been coming for a while. HealthKit will probably cause a surge in health care apps however, many apps that can help in the doctors office already exist. AliveCor is an app that allows patients to give themselves an at home EKG. By putting a finger on the monitors sensor the app reads a patients heart rate and can detect any irregularities. While it is still best to see a doctor, being able to administer this test at home can put a patient’s mind to rest until they can make an appointment to have a proper EKG. CliniCam is an app for doctors that allows them to take pictures of patients condition without violating any privacy laws. With the app a doctor can take a picture or a rash or such that is then directly uploaded to the patients electronic medical record. The pictures are not stored on the doctors phone so patients can be at ease that no one else is seeing their pictures.

All this new technology can help doctors and patients save time and get to a quicker diagnosis and treatment. However, these apps should be used at the discretion of both the doctor and the patient. They are not meant to replace a doctor, but simply to help them. As these apps improve, technology will continue to play a bigger role in how doctors and patients choose to interact.



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