technology constantly advances and improves, the process inevitably influences every part of our lives. When the term eHealth came into our lives not too long ago, not every knew what this consisted of and how exactly it will help us in our approach to healthcare in general. Today, when many countries have embraced this combination of medicine and technology and used it for the benefit of patient care, the question that rises is the even bigger division between low and high standard countries and the enormous advantage the latter have when it comes to the quality of their healthcare.
Revolution in Healthcare
Whether you understand it as the usage of internet in healthcare or the usage of any computer in medicine, which are two of the most common interpretations, the term eHealth dates as back as 1999. Today, the term is mostly referred to as usage of information and communications technologies in healthcare. Its benefits are numerous and proved to positively influence patient care, as well as cut down the administrative troubles that can cause a lot of confusion and necessary stress. Introducing technology in the way we treat patients has proven to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and management of health and lifestyle. More specifically, digitalizing the health system includes information and data sharing between patients and health service providers, hospitals, health professionals and health information networks, electronic health records, telemedicine services, portable patient-monitoring devices, operating room scheduling software and even robotised surgery.
To summarize, it allowed health professionals to focus only on their job and as a result, provide better and quality healthcare to their patients.
How Does eHealth Work in the Netherlands?
The Netherland government has one of the most advanced strategies for developing the eHealth system. Their goals consist of several tasks: to provide access to medical records for at least 80% of chronically ill people by 2019, and at least 40% of other members of the population. Additionally, the focus is on allowing health monitoring for patients and their health providers for health problems such as blood pressure and levels of cholesterol and, for those patients who are receiving home care, the Netherlands government states the importance of communication with their care provider 24 hours a day via a screen, which is also optional.
Technology That Connects
In the fast moving world we live in, technology has helped us cut time we spend waiting in lines, allowed us to better organize our time and finish our daily tasks with the least amount of stress as possible. Using technology for medical e-consultation or online medical appointment has, paradoxically, made patients and general practitioners even more connected and created a more personal and effective healthcare where everyone is focused solely on their tasks, instead of the tiresome administrative struggles. In this case, it proves that technology can impact our lives in a much more meaningful way that we might think. Therefore, you next appointment with your family doctor can be only one click away!