Social, Mobile, and Cloud Technologies
The words Social, Mobile, and Cloud are definitely becoming some of the most popular words in technology today. Social Media outlets such Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have dominated the online world by bringing people together socially and through business. Everyone wants to possess the next newest mobile gadget that will help them perform their job better or be in closer touch with their friends and families. In addition, CD’s are now becoming obsolete and are making room for Cloud technology which is becoming extremely popular. With each of these innovations being different, they complement each other in a very beneficial way. Today, just about everyone has a mobile device whether it be a smart phone or tablet and has direct access to social media and cloud services. However, these technologies are not just popular for our social needs but the healthcare marketplace as well.
Social Media in the healthcare marketplace is becoming extremely helpful for healthcare organizations such as hospitals and vendors to promote their products and services. It is a great alternative source of advertising instead of television and newspapers. In addition, Social Media is a great venue for promoting new healthcare advancements and making the public aware of healthcare concerns such as diseases and viruses. Some helpful ways for hospitals to use social media is to use Twitter and Facebook to generate a patient following, have hospital staff post online blogs on new topics, and use YouTube as an online presentation tool.
Have you ever gone online to Google to search for symptoms that you are feeling in hopes to figure out what is wrong with you? Well if yes, you are not alone. Many patients before they are calling up their doctor are now researching online to try to self-diagnosis themselves. In addition, there are online forums where fellow patients can speak to patients and doctors to discuss their health concerns and even post doctor reviews. Even though these services are very helpful, most online users are still making appointments with their primary care doctors as they will receive better medical care by being in front of their doctor. However, with all the advancements in technology this may change one day. The 2012 Pricewaterhouse Coopers consumer survey tends to prove this. The survey stated that 60 percent of survey participants would trust information posted online from their doctor and 55 percent said they would trust information from their hospital.
Mobile Devices today such as smart phones and tablets are being used in healthcare facilities to exchange patient healthcare information between providers and licensed healthcare staff. However, mobile devices have not been tapped for their full potential yet. More patient care services will be administrated outside healthcare organizations through these mobile devices. Imagine a mobile device that knows your medical history, is able to monitor your health, and automatically alerts your provider or hospital of any health problems such as high blood pressure, glucose levels, heart problems, and of an accident. In addition, the mobile devices could also be used to track your exercise, diet, and remind you to take your medication. While there are some mobile devices that already track some of these things, the future is going to bring more innovation that will change the way healthcare is administered to patients.
Cloud computing is becoming popular within healthcare organizations due to innovations in virtualization and in spite of security issues that some may feel jeopardize the healthcare information. A major push for healthcare organizations is the need to increase data storage and to reduce their operational costs. However, with security and privacy issues that could arise, a lot of organizations are looking for a proven model before they invest their time, energy, and money to ensure it is a sound solution for the future. The healthcare industry has always been quite cautious to ensure that healthcare information is secure. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what the future brings and if cloud computing technology can gain trust with healthcare organizations.
