Impact of Digital health system for Quality of Care
1. Responsive and sustainable healthcare
With longer life expectancies, the increasing number of people living with chronic diseases and the rising costs of healthcare, there is an ever-growing pressure on healthcare systems around the world. There is also a growing shift towards digital health approaches to healthcare. With digital health platforms, patients have quicker access to health services, improving the quality of care provided to them. Simultaneously, these platforms help reduce burdens on health care facilities by pioneering the idea of self-care for patients.
2. Prevention before treatment
Digital health technologies help patients self-manage their health conditions through regular monitoring and tracking of symptoms. More importantly, it is a tool for the early detection of significant changes to disease progression in a patient, before lung health has been irreversibly compromised. Digital health platforms are therefore of immense value for both respiratory disease patients and those classified as ‘at risk’.
3. Re-modeling the patient-doctor relationship
Digital health systems engage patients with their health care provider, making them co-designers of their care and treatment plans. The quick, direct and shared access to the current health status of the patient increases the sense of partnership, trust, and transparency between patient and doctor. Important factors affecting health such as time of day, environmental stimulants, the use of medications and adherence to medications can all be logged in real-time and can be used to present a clear profile of the sensitivities of the patient’s condition.
4. Expanding the reach of health-care professionals
Digital health innovations aim to reduce health-care professionals’ administrative burden and other repetitive aspects of their jobs. This expands their time for actual patient-contact and monitoring. This is particularly important for patients or clinics located in rural areas or for home-care/outpatients for travel is difficult or not recommended. With clinical-grade technologies in their pocket, patients are equipped to provide their health information to their physician at any time.
5. Leveling the platform
The access to affordable medical technologies in clinics reduces the financial burdens associated with disease management for both the clinic and patients. Many digital health platforms also a gateway to online communities where patients can find encouragement and engagements with others experiencing similar health issues.
Benefits of digital health systems are seen a lot when it comes to respiratory illnesses as well. Telehealth makes the monitoring of these diseases way easier and streamlined. Being able to carry spirometry tests into a virtual platform makes their burden a lot less for both the healthcare professionals and the patients.