In this article, I’ll write about the impact of technology on the health and wellness industry. We cannot deny the fact that technology has advanced tremendously and so does the health industry. Technology has touched almost all spheres of life and changed our lives for the better. Researchers across the globe have engaged themselves to improve the wellness and health industry so much that it won’t be wrong to say that now and then some new things are innovated. You might have seen the fitness apps and watches, right? It helps users of fitness app and watches to track their calorie intake and also can count the number of steps they have walked.
Researchers say that these kinds of gadgets are contributing a lot in shaping the health care system. You must be thinking by now that it is not possible for everyone. Yes, I agree with it. Because there are many countries which are not developed, or perhaps people are not so rich enough to help themselves with these gadgets, or perhaps there are places which lack funds. It will take time for the entire world to understand the importance of technology and also implement them.
Magnetic resonance imaging scanners, radiotherapy, infusion pumps, dialysis machines, heart valves, MRI scanners, etc are some of the most commonly used elements in the healthcare system. You might have witnessed the importance of technology in this field in this pandemic. The pandemic has demonstrated quite well the challenges associate with technology as well, such as digital payments, telehealth, and also robotics. Isn’t it? We cannot deny the fact that technology is certainly playing a major role in keeping our society functional even at the time when there was lock-down everywhere.
According to me, these technologies will sustain even after this virus sweeps past us completely. When going a little past in time frame, we have seen that the human race has been threatened from time and again. We witnessed SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and now Corona virus. But the human race survived, fought against the virus by learning new ways every time. Technology helps to lessen the impact of pandemic though cannot control it. We use mobile, analytics, robotics, artificial intelligence/machine learning, etc. in response to this pandemic.
With the help of technology, we fight against misinformation. We get a lot of information about fatalities, treatment, and diagnosis, medicines, policies of government from sources such as Google, Facebook, etc. These help us from misleading ourselves creating a transparent scenario that helps the public to take the right steps. At present when there is no drug/vaccine to cure Corona virus completely, the world is engrossed as well as desperate to find a cure/ vaccine. Here we can see how helpful technology, AI is. In India, PPE Kits are produced in such a huge number that these are being used by us. For example, out of 2.22 crores, PPE around 1.42 crores will be bought by the Government of India and the rest will be imported. From this figure, you can make out at what pace technology is advancing.
Technologies are also helping us to trace more about the virus, facial recognition technology with data can help us to recognize people in the mask. This helps greatly to monitor and track people. Robots are being used to transport food and medicine to patients in hospitals, delivering grocery and cooking kinds of stuff, sterilizing hospitals, patrolling streets. Drones are also used for these along with some other, such as tracking population, carrying test kits to locations that are quarantined, thermal imaging, spraying disinfectant, sanitizing larger areas (playgrounds, roads, etc.). Wireless thermometer guns that we see in hotels, airports, banks, railway stations, etc. are used widely. This technology helps in measuring the temperature of the body. Also, we used techniques such as video conferencing, virtual meetings, etc. which helps to maintain our business and also supports social distancing at the same time.
So you see how technology is helpful in this field. I tried to mention its importance by taking into consideration the present pandemic that we all are facing. Technology is helping us to manage Corona virus and also equip us to fight against it systematically.