Good communication and system organization are essential in the medical field. Doctors and nurses need an updated system to monitor their patient’s health, especially those with chronic illnesses. Thanks to smartphones, providing individuals with medical care is made better and in-real time because of the advancements of mobile devices like conducting consultations via video call.
Smartphones are increasingly becoming a staple in the healthcare industry. Their ability to connect patients and doctors, as well as provide access to health information and data, makes them an invaluable tool in today’s rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Not to mention, they make storing relevant patient information easier with just a few clicks.
Smartphones have indeed revolutionized the healthcare industry and the way care is delivered. Here are some other ways smartphones are benefiting healthcare:
Download Medical-Related Apps
Mobile App, a software application you could have on your phone, is essential to make the most out of your gadget. Nowadays, the greatest thing about having a smartphone is that you can download various mobile applications, whether fitness and lifestyle apps, games, or even health-related ones.
Numerous mobile apps are now specifically designed to help people track their health status, monitor their symptoms, and help doctors provide medical care at a lesser price. Health applications make consultations more convenient as some doctors allow having a one-on-one check-up with a patient. Patients could even receive their digital copy of requests for laboratory tests or prescription medicines and have all their medical files organized in the app.
Also, you could set your mobile phone to ring, send reminders on when to drink your medicines, and provide you with educational and medical information. There are thousands of health-related applications you can check out and try which ones would work best for your needs.
Call 911 For Emergencies
In times of emergency, you would always need to call 911 to respond and get the medical help you need. But smartphones were nonexistent before, so it was hard to call for help. Fortunately, some smartphones have voice activation features that you could use to call for help.
Voice activation on phones is essential because when you can’t dial 911, you can yell at your phone, and it will automatically contact hospitals for help. But, voice activation is not always found in all phones, so it’s better to check if you have this feature.
Easier To Locate Patients’ Past Medical History
Since patient information is stored digitally, you can forget about having loads of papers piled up. In the traditional clinic setups of clinics, the patient’s files are stored in folders or drawers for safekeeping. When this patient comes back for a check-up, sometimes it takes some time to look for their old medical records, or it would be hard to read handwritten records.
But, when you have a mobile device, you can easily use it to access your system’s software containing all your patient’s medical records and results. It would be easier to locate as you could use the search bar on cell phones. With a few types of their name, you can see their records in an instant and hassle-free.
Real-Time Effective Communication
If you live far from your doctor’s clinic, you could choose to have an appointment scheduled online. Recently, this has been one of the trends, especially when COVID-19 pandemic happened, and people could not go outside as they may have caught the virus. Thus, teleconsultations helped patients to connect to their doctors.
Online consultations and phone communication with your medical health professionals allow you to communicate your concern faster than going to clinics. Also, you may turn on your phone’s camera and show your doctors your physical symptoms. In this sense, they could also examine and view your reports in real-time to provide you with clear instructions on what to do.
Helps the Patient and Guardians Be Better-Informed
When patients visit clinics, they have difficulty understanding everything their doctor says and often feel ashamed to ask again. Thus, consultations using your smartphone could reduce that instance.
Since everything will be done either through apps on your phone or through email, your doctors could virtually provide you with information about your medications and illness, which you could look back on whenever you feel like you forgot something. It allows you to be better-informed patient as you will be provided with the necessary information, instructions, and prescriptions without fearing if you forgot something.
Final Thoughts
Different gadgets, especially smartphones, have improved people’s lifestyles and provided easier and faster ways of doing tasks. Not only this, but it has also paved the way in various sectors like in the healthcare industry, where accessibility, convenience, and real-time communication are highly needed.
As stated above are five benefits of why smartphones are an advantage in today’s healthcare facilities, professionals, and patients. Patients could enjoy better services, and medical professionals’ jobs would become less stressful.
