HEALTH TECH

Because of recent events, there has been a lot of focus on the health industry. Apart from the devotion and sacrifice of countless healthcare professionals and the institutions that keep us safe, technology has made huge strides in healthcare and how the system runs. We’re lucky to be living in a time where technology can do so much to help with a task that can be quite daunting, so here’s a bit of a spotlight on the tech that helps make us better. Whether it’s something as simple as easier access to records, or something as dramatic as performing remote operations from halfway around the world, technology is here to make the process of keeping people healthy a much easier endeavor.

- Ren Alcantara

Your medical records

Medical records are long, complicated things, with plenty of information. Duplicating each person’s medical history, particularly for patients with extensive health concerns. The digitalization of health records is a huge boon for the whole system. Instant, remote access to records that are as accurate as the original, filed in a simple system makes the process of dealing with patients that much more simple, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on the people who need their help, than dealing with administrative tasks.

Personal trackers with global possibilities

Personal health trackers have been increasing in popularity of late, and while it can be nice to know you’ve hit 10,000 steps in your day, or how much sleep you actually got, the average person doesn’t really have that much use for all that info. At the top of the year, a US study found that heart rate and sleep data from a reasonably large number of people in an area could be used to predict possible flu outbreaks. There’s a lot of power in having a lot of data as long as you know what to do with it, and this opens up a lot of possible uses for all the information all those wearables generate.