What Are The Latest Healthcare Trends To Be Aware Of?

If you are a healthcare professional, then it is vital to stay up to date with the latest trends in your industry. While not every trend will align directly with your area of expertise, they will inevitably influence your role in some capacity in the future. Not only is it a best practice to stay on top of the latest breakthroughs in healthcare, but it can greatly assist your chances of gaining a promotion, increasing your skill set and making the best decisions possible for your career. 

The reason for this is that emerging trends can quickly become breakthroughs that change healthcare forever. Only those who had a chance to understand these developments as they unfolded will have a chance to adapt to them and integrate them into their role at a steady pace, rather than having to play catch up later.

Great examples of this are the transformative technology trends that are reshaping a variety of different industries. AI and blockchain are two highly complex technologies which are likely to transform the future of healthcare practices, so understanding them early will make you more valuable to your employer and your patients.

These are some of the latest healthcare trends to be aware of:

There is a rise in natural remedies for ailments

An interesting trend to stay abreast of is the desire of an increasing number of patients to seek natural or non-intrusive solutions to their medical problems. 

Whether it is the potential use cases for CBD, stem cell therapy for slipped disc treatments, or cold-water therapy to reduce stress and even symptoms of serious medical conditions like arthritis, there are several emerging trends that patients are turning to as potential medical solutions. 

Indeed, for people who are suffering from a chronic pain condition – such as a back or wrist mobility issue, Physiotherapy Edinburgh experts can help relieve pain symptoms. While this reliance on natural remedies or treatments may not directly affect your area of expertise yet, it is worth bearing in mind when offering patients potential solutions to their problems.

Electronic medical records and sensitive data storage may become more efficient with blockchain

The emergence of blockchain technology in recent years has transformed the daily practices of a variety of industries – from finance to governance and law to gaming. The shift has happened so quickly that, unless you are a tech expert, may have passed you by.

Blockchain technology has now set its sights on the healthcare industry – and particularly electronic medical records and the storage of other sensitive data. 

The reason why blockchain is potentially so useful to healthcare organizations is that it helps to strike a workable balance between efficient access to patient medical records and incorruptible security layers. 

Up until now, it has been difficult to find a middle ground between these two priorities – resulting in either a fast workflow that ends in a data leak or a secure network that suffers from a slowdown.

Using the decentralized security layer provided by blockchain technology, healthcare professionals could start to experience both an increase in workflow efficiency and data security. 

Remote healthcare is increasingly prevalent thanks to technological advancements

Following the recent pandemic, many industries have had to adapt to a primarily remote-based work environment, and healthcare is no different.

Not only is this evidenced by an increase in remote medical consultations, but the rise of sophisticated sensors which can measure, record and feedback data about a particular patient to a medical professional. They will then know whether to check up on them, administer any medication or help them with a more serious issue.