Hospitals should always be a place of healing. While everyone knows the amazing work that is done by doctors and nurses, few stop to think about how changing technologies are helping to save lives at the same time. Below are just three of the technologies that are helping to save lives every day.
Surprisingly, many deaths in the hospital have traditionally come from the wrong medications being given to the wrong patients. Thanks to pharmacy informatics, though, this is quickly becoming a thing of the past. With better tracking and more accountability, it’s becoming easier for hospitals to ensure patient safety. While it might not seem like simply having the right data management available can play a huge role in making a hospital safer, it has probably saved many lives. Better informatics simply makes for more streamlined medical practice and allows for fewer mistakes in the overall process.
Robots might seem like they’re science fiction, but they actually play a major role in hospitals today. In many cases, robots are simply used for the repetitive tasks that don’t necessarily need human guidance. These simple machines can tirelessly test samples or sort data without input. This can free up health administrators to focus on quality care with more professionals available. In other cases, robots are beginning to work as tools that assist human surgeons to increase their surgical abilities. As robotics become more advanced, it becomes possible for surgeons to perform a procedure from across the country or for a doctor to check on a patient even when he or she is not in town.
One of the most problematic issues with treating cancer has traditionally been that the approach to treatment has been one-size-fits-all. This means that not only were treatments not really designed to work for everyone but that they were also often incredibly harmful when they were used on parts of the population. Thanks to genotyping, though, cancer treatments can be narrowed down to figure out what works for a given individual. While the science is still relatively young, it is helping to increase the survival rates from and reducing the damage caused by the treatment itself.
Robotics, genotyping, and improved pharmaceutical informatics are helping to keep patients safer and, in many cases, saving their lives. As new technologies emerge, hospitals will use them to shore up their weaknesses and find new ways to save lives. While the human element will always be very important, it’s good to know that new technological breakthroughs will always be used to help save lives.