Empowering Patients: How Digital Healthcare Is Enabling Self-Managed Healthcare? | TheHealthSite.com

Empowering Patients: How Digital Healthcare Is Enabling Self-Managed Healthcare? | TheHealthSite.com unknown

Adapting advanced technologies to serve the larger populations is the key to revolutionizing healthcare.

Written by Tavishi Dogra |Updated : October 21, 2023 12:35 PM IST

Patient empowerment is the ability of individuals to adopt a proactive role in managing their symptoms. The best way to empower patients is by increasing their ease of access to personalized quality care wearables and healthcare delivery driven by technology. A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research found that those empowered to self-manage their diabetes had better control over their blood sugar and were less likely to experience complications. Empowering patients with digital technology can improve access to timely healthcare advice, medical expert resources, and treatment, improving overall outcomes. This will help them understand the available treatment options and make the best decisions. Such a practice will boost their confidence and encourage them to track their health more responsibly. The latest technologies can enable timely diagnosis, care, remote monitoring, real-time feedback, and high-quality holistic care. On that note, Mr Manmohan Singh, Vice President of Medical Affairs, discusses how digital healthcare empowers patients, enabling self-managed healthcare among patients in detail.

How Is Digital Healthcare Allowing Patients To Manage Their Health On Their Own?

Digitally enabled healthcare platforms are designed to empower patients to self-manage their health conditions from the comfort of their homes. These platforms offer individuals easy access to remote monitoring, which helps them take necessary steps to manage their disease symptoms. Innovations in health tech further improve patient care and access to healthcare services. The majority of healthcare providers serve in urban areas. Health technologies have the potential to solve the problem of inequitable distribution of healthcare resources.

Innovations That Are Facilitating Self-Managed Healthcare

Healthcare technologies have improved the approach to monitoring health conditions and facilitated better doctor-patient interactions. This has proven beneficial for patients with limited access to proper healthcare facilities.

Here are a few of the latest innovations that are allowing patients to practice self-managed healthcare:

• Telemedicine and electronic medical records: According to several reports, India's telemedicine market is expected to reach $5.15 Billion in 2030, up from $1.10 Billion in 2020. Experts accredited the advent of advanced technological innovation and the surge in chronic and lifestyle disorders as the top reasons behind this growth. The adoption of telemedicine has not only helped patients save time and money but has also allowed those with disorders to get their diagnosis & care remotely. This has helped patients become more attentive toward their health and seek assistance virtually when they deem fit. Besides remote diagnosis, the technology has enabled doctors to detect changes in patient's medical state, allowing them to prescribe changes to medication or therapy through digital prescriptions.
• Wearable Technology & Biosensors: These technologies encompass smartwatches, cellular glucometers, activity trackers, ECGs and vital monitors and enable monitoring of chronic and acute disease conditions. Typically, these devices gather patient data such as their heart rate, other vitals, and blood sugar levels in real-time, allowing patients to track their health status. A better understanding of health conditions motivates patients to seek timely care and an opportunity to make decisions with healthcare providers. These wearable devices ensure that patients suffering from chronic health conditions remember to take their medicines at the right time without fail and track their progress better.

Conclusion

Healthcare providers can also access patients' health data and vital signs in real time and customize treatment plans accordingly. However, there are multiple challenges in adopting health technologies in India, including the cost of the devices, poor health literacy, poor internet coverage and lack of smartphones in peripheral settings. This can be resolved if leading digital healthcare platforms and medical experts focus on expanding their network to bridge the lack of access to healthcare in remote areas, especially among technologically backwards individuals. Adapting advanced technologies to serve the larger populations is the key to revolutionizing healthcare.