Healthcare In The Digital Age: How Silicon Valley Is Revolutionizing Medicine

Updated on December 14, 2021

Like it or not, healthcare is changing and evolving before our very eyes. The rapid onslaught of technological advancements has changed the medical landscape at a more rapid pace than ever before in our history.

When it comes to building digital futures into medical advancements, many physicians and researchers are now looking towards Silicon Valley to deliver the next big breakthrough.

Digital Landscapes and The Future Of Medicine

Medical research and development are becoming synonymous with the likes of Google, Apple, and Facebook. Silicon Valley has redrawn the medical landscape in more ways than one. But why is this happening? Modern researchers are now looking to what’s been built in Silicon Valley, not just for inspiration but for medical development as well.

Here’s a look at why Silicon Valley is revolutionizing healthcare by making it easier to get life-saving treatments to patients who need them most, bringing down the cost of existing healthcare options, and creating innovative new ways to open up dialogue between doctors and their patients.

Building Digital Futures Into Education

Silicon Valley can play a bigger role than they already do in helping med students gain the skills they need to make them better doctors.

Medical school is not what it used to be. Students are no longer taught to follow old-time conventional ways. Students need to have an understanding of technology, data collection, and analysis skills as well. Without such training, students are not ready for their future careers as doctors.

The coming years should see further integration between medical departments and nearby tech companies to allow for these types of programs to become a reality for students in years to come.

Even the delivery of learning is changing thanks to technology. Online courses such as the online MSN programs offered by various universities are allowing students from every socioeconomic background the opportunity to join the healthcare professions.

That’s not all.

These online courses are affordable too. In fact, online school is a very real option for students today. That may seem like a far-fetched idea for a career in the healthcare field, but increasingly more and more med students are joining the ranks of those who opt to obtain their medical degrees through an online education program such as an online MSN degree program.

With such technology at hand, physicians will make better use of the tools they have in their armamentarium to keep patients healthy. They can easily access patient information before they make house calls or even while they are still at the hospital. Doctors will be able to plan accordingly and keep patients from falling through the cracks. They will get more involved in the process if possible and involve patients in their own treatment as well.

The ability to collect patient information via smartphones means that it’s easier for doctors to access patient data on the move. This could save valuable healthcare time and boost care when it matters most. It can also help doctors provide a sense of security to patients while they are in the hospital because they have an online record of their vitals at all times.

Building on Big Data In Medicine

Doctors can’t do their job without the help of data. The good news is that Silicon Valley has already begun to make headway in this arena.

Google is helping the healthcare industry. In the last decade, Google has partnered with various medical universities on a variety of projects, including artificial intelligence and deep learning technology. These tools are being used to predict when patients are likely to get sick again and how they can get healthy again.

Google is using machine learning technology to build up a greater understanding of how diseases affect patient health as well as how drugs affect a patients’ response over time. By doing this, they are creating an enormous wealth of information that can be used by pharmaceutical companies to improve their effectiveness and safety in the long run.

It’s true that Google is already helping cure diseases by being instrumental in finding cures for viruses, but their role in the medical industry is growing by the day.

By working on advanced technology such as Artificial Intelligence and deep learning methods, they are opening up the door for major technological advancements in areas such as medicine and healthcare in general.

Google uses lots of data to improve its machine learning technologies. They collect data from all corners of the world to create a powerful tool of knowledge that can be used to understand human subjects better. This means that the more information they have, the better set they are to help cure diseases and better understand health conditions.

The Privacy Concerns Of Digital Medicine

Innovation always comes with some risk.

In the case of Silicon Valley, the risks come from the concern over personal privacy. With the rise of new companies and technologies in medicine, there is a growing concern for security too. 

People are worried about their data being compromised by unscrupulous individuals or groups who could hold their personal information hostage to extort money or ransom them to unlock what they want.

The key is education and prevention, as well as a plan of action if such a disaster should occur. The biggest fear people have is that insurance companies will get hold of private medical information and deny payment based on pre-existing conditions or other health issues they can use against you during an audit process. 

Silicon Valley is slowly being woken up by these fears, but it’s evolving at a snail’s pace.

As more and more people get used to the idea of digital medicine, there will be more awareness against such attacks. An open dialogue between patients and doctors will make it easier for them to help other patients in the future because they’ll have something to compare their experiences with.

In a world where privacy concerns are being addressed, tech companies can make great strides towards building better tools that will help everyone be better off in the long run. It just comes down to getting everyone on board with a plan of action when it comes to digital medicine so that people can get the most out of every technological advance.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.