The Hospital of Tomorrow

Through the years, technological development in our society has been happening with then end of easing the lives of the people. We have seen the development of communication devices through the years as well as other technologies that are now almost necessary in our everyday life. With the fast-changing society, the people's needs also changes, and we attempt to satiate those needs by developing and inventing new forms of technology. But one development that caught my eye is the development of healthcare service.

In an article in Keep It Running (The DSS Blogs) IT Solutions from the Desktop to the Data Center, Jack Gesualdi discussed the possible healthcare development that will happen in the next few years and how do these changes will ease the lives of the patients and doctors alike.

(link: http://www.dsscorp.com/blog/2013/12/17/what-do-we-already-know-about-the-hospital-of-tomorrow/ )

Gesualdi gathered information from health professionals and government officials of what the hospital of tomorrow will look like. Interest in the development of healthcare has arose in the last few years with the continuing development of healthcare benefits for citizens around the globe. Most of the answers gathered focused on the technology, cost-savings and efficiency of hospitals in the future.

The most efficient development that may possibly happen in the next few years is the technology-centered operation of the hospitals. This will not just benefit the doctors but will benefit the patients and the patients' families as well.

First is the 'digitization' of patients' records. The records of the patients will be kept in a server and will be easily accessed by the doctors through hand-held gadgets and computers. IT professionals may also develop software that will alert doctors when there are patients with records that should be taken care of immediately. Aside from the benefits that the hospital gets, there will be much less space to be taken up since papers will not be used and stored in the hospitals anymore. It is greener and cost-efficient since papers will not be used anymore in keeping records.

Second is the development in patient-doctor communication. It has always been a problem in the past since doctors are always busy and has many patients to look after. Even if the patients are able to communicate with their doctors, this is only a short matter of time since doctors would have other things to attend to. However, in the near future, this problem will be solved. With the aid of technology, patient-doctor communication may be done now through social media. It will be easier for both parties to communicate since both of them may not have to personally see each other to talk. Doctors can update the health status of their patients through social media. Doctors can also hold 'conferences' on social media and talk to several patients with the same diagnosis. Doctors can also post their schedules on their social media to indicate when they will be available for consultations.

But people must never forget that these technological development is not for the sake of just developing technologies. These developments should always aim for the betterment of human lives, and these developments should always be centered on its users, the people. With the continuing development of technology, one should always keep in mind the purpose of these developments. Developers and users of these technologies should be responsible enough to use these kind of technology.

by Ryoichi Okada