How the Internet Has Made Changes to Healthcare

Featured article by Calvin Paige, Independent Technology Author

It is undeniable that the internet has had a huge impact on many different industries in the world of today. One of the biggest industries which the internet and technology has significantly changed for the better is healthcare. The healthcare industry of today largely relies on the internet in a lot of ways in order to provide the type of care that patients have become to expect. The internet has benefitted both patients and healthcare professionals; it has increased the standard of care and made it easier for healthcare professionals to deliver it. We’ve listed just some of the ways in which the internet has changed and is changing healthcare for the better.

Better Access to Education

One of the best things about the internet is the fact that it provides easy access to learning materials for health professionals and aspiring health professionals everywhere. For example, it’s possible to take courses such as a health law degree from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law or even a nursing degree these days totally online. This is making it much easier for people to pursue careers in the healthcare sector, along with making accessing resources much easier for healthcare professionals on the job.

Better Standard of Care

Thanks to the internet and the technological advancements that have come along with it such as cloud computing, healthcare professionals are able to provide a much better standard of care to their patients. With just the click of a button, those working in healthcare are able to access patient records, vital signs, and more critical information which is centralized into one accessible area. Due to this, it’s easier for healthcare professionals to administer care to their patients in a manner which is quick and efficient.

Telehealth

Thanks to the internet making it much easier for everyone to stay in touch, the healthcare and medical industries have developed telehealth, which allows healthcare professionals to stay connected all over the world. Using a smartphone, tablet or computer, doctors and other healthcare professionals can not only quickly access thousands of pages worth of medical textbooks and other resources, but also contact colleagues and other health professionals from all over the world for advice and instruction. This means that doctors don’t often have to wait for a second opinion, and can get valuable help and advice when it is needed the most, such as in situations like the Haiti 2010 earthquakes.

Online Health Resources

When it comes to finding information about healthcare online, there is a wide range of resources on anything from healthcare law to common symptoms of illnesses. With this amount of information readily available, people are being put more in charge of their own healthcare as they can use the internet to get information about conditions and the best course of action to take when it comes to treating them. Patients can also use the internet to find doctors and other healthcare professionals quickly.

The internet has certainly brought about a lot of great changes in healthcare!