Many of tomorrow’s medical marvels are already here!
When developing new technologies, engineers often build upon successful models that already exist. Today’s CTs are direct descendants of yesterday’s x-rays, for example, and sutures made from plant and animal materials paved the way for absorbable sutures. The medical technologies physicians use today will likely serve as the blueprint for the technologies tomorrow’s doctors use – and this is especially true in emergency medicine.
Today’s technologies pave the way for tomorrow’s healthcare
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI provides faster and more accurate triage, enhances decision-making, and improves diagnosis to improve both the quality and efficiency of care in the Emergency Room (ER). AI may also help reduce the burden on ERs by supporting the decision-making processes of EMTs and other first responders.
Telemedicine
Something old is new again!
Established by NASA in 1960 to monitor the health of astronauts, telemedicine is the use of technology to diagnose and treat patients when long distances separate patients and providers. The communication systems and software that support them have come a long way in 65 years – today’s technology allows emergency physicians to visually examine the patient in real-time, for example. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices can be used in telemedicine to transmit vital signs, weight, and more.
Systems of the future will likely include enhanced AI features, increased operability between telemedicine platforms and EHRs, and even the growth of specialized telemedicine services within hospitals.
Drones
Unmanned drones can move equipment quickly to save lives. They can also go where humans cannot, and find people who are lost, trapped, or injured.
Drones have already saved lives. A drone delivered a defibrillator to a man who had a heart attack on a Swedish golf course, for example, and a drone helped a search and rescue team find a lost hiker suffering from hypothermia and dehydration.
Testing for drone deliveries has already taken flight in some states, such as Massachusetts and Maryland. Emergency physicians of tomorrow will think nothing of using drones to deliver AEDs and other medical supplies to patients in remote locations.
Wearable sensors
Applied to patients by first responders, wearable sensors can provide real-time vital signs and other data to emergency physicians. Patients with chronic conditions can use wearable sensors to monitor and transmit important health information to their primary care providers. In the event of a crisis, the health information gathered by the sensors gives emergency physicians more information about the patient’s state of health in the hours or minutes leading up to the event. Wearable sensors equipped with GPS can pinpoint the patient’s location for faster response times.
Existing technology includes:
• Oximetry devices
• Sleep trackers
• Blood pressure monitors
• Continuous glucose monitors
• Heart rate monitoring
• Biosensors that can detect levels of cortisol or other chemicals in the body
Tomorrow’s wearable devices might include:
• Smart prostheses that use AI to learn about the person wearing it and adapt to their changing needs
• AI in patient monitoring
• Biosensors that detect cancer
ER scheduling software
Shift scheduling has always been an important issue, especially when it comes to the Emergency Department. ER scheduling software has been evolving for decades, with “pencil and paper” systems laying the groundwork for modern computerized systems. Tomorrow’s ER scheduling software will be even more sophisticated, thanks to ByteBloc.
Founded in 1989, ByteBloc offers emergency medicine scheduling that keeps Emergency Departments operating at their peak. The ER scheduling software of the future will pay homage to our advanced features, such as multi-location schedules, highly customizable summary statistics, customizable print layouts, flexible schedules with a variety of day types, and more.For more information on how our ER scheduling software will change the future of physician scheduling, connect with ByteBloc.
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