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The Future of Digital Health Tools

Written and medically reviewed by Dorcas Morak, Pharm.D

Updated on February 5th, 2023

Save up to 88% on your medications

> Are digital health tools truly helpful in improving performance such as streamlining physicians' jobs, reducing human error, optimizing outdated systems, enhancing treatment outcomes, and reducing treatment costs? The answer is yes! Though the healthcare industry is slower to adopt digital technology than other industries, the use of digital tools has revolutionized the industry.

Over the last couple of years, there has been a sudden rise in the rate of adoption of digital health tools which can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital health tools are now widely used to deliver streamlined services that enhance patient outcomes. If you are curious about what the future hold for digital health tools, here is what you need to know.

What is meant by the adoption of technology in healthcare?

The adoption of digital health tools in the healthcare industry involves the digital transformation of the healthcare field, using software, hardware, and services. It involves the use of tools such as mobile health (mHealth) apps, electronic health records (EHRs), electronic medical records (EMRs), wearable devices, telehealth, and telemedicine, as well as personalized medicine. Over the years, there has been an increased rate of adoption of digital health tools. It improves clinical outcomes and work efficiency.

What are the top digital health tools used in healthcare?

  • Telehealth: Telehealth brings healthcare closer to patients by providing medical services and information via video calls, text messages, and even chatbots. Through the use of digital tools, it enables professionals to offer patients services like medical care, guidance, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admittance. It is cost-effective, flexible, and increases access to care.

  • Telemedicine: Telemedicine is a more restrictive form of telehealth. While telehealth can also apply to distant non-clinical services including provider training, administrative meetings, and continuing medical education in addition to clinical services, telemedicine is expressly used to describe remote clinical services.

  • Wearable technology: Wearable technology is another way that digital technologies are transforming healthcare. With wearable technology, patients have 24/7 access to personal medical information that can both keep them healthy and provide information to their doctor. One good example is the Apple Heart Study app, which can monitor heartbeats and alert users about atrial fibrillation.

  • Data storage: Data storage is a tool that powers the healthcare industry because of its inherent ability to gather and store vast amounts of information. Clinicians can make diagnoses, enhance treatment plans, and maintain closer contact with their patients' health using the data collected.

  • Digital therapeutics: Digital therapeutics (DTx) uses software programs to evaluate user data and offer therapeutic actions to prevent, manage, or treat a medical ailment or disease. It allows people to check their mental wellness from the comfort of their phones.

Do digital health tools have physician acceptance?

A 2022 survey of 1,300 physicians carried out by the American Medical Association found that there is an increase, sometimes substantial, in the adoption of health digital tools by clinicians. Findings include the following statistics:

  • 93% of physicians (up from 85% in 2016) now believe digital health tools are beneficial for patient care.
  • Physicians now use an average of 3.8 digital tools compared to 2.2 in 2016.
  • Physicians cited improved clinical outcomes and work efficiency as their reason for adopting digital health tools.
  • 80% of physicians use telehealth platforms, up from just 14% in 2016.
  • 30% of physicians use remote monitoring devices, up from 12% in 2016.

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