The Impact of Covid 19 on Technology Advances Digital Medicine

DIGITAL MEDICINE

Digital Medicine: The Impact of Covid-19 on Technology Advances

COVID-19 has hugely impacted the deployment and use of digital medicine. This is more so the case given that as the number of infected individuals increase, it becomes difficult for healthcare systems to accommodate the said numbers (Islam et al., 2020). The risk of infection also increases when social distancing protocols are not observed. Therefore, healthcare providers and experts have advocated for the treatment of patients in the comfort of their homes so as to reduce the spread of the said virus. According to Islam et al (2020), COVID-19 has also led to the use of a wide range of technological devices to monitor patients for minor symptoms and, thus, avoid hospitalization or in-person visits.

Wearables, mobile devices, and telehealth may contribute to big data in nursing practice in various ways. For instance, use of wearables in nursing practice can be an innovative practice in nursing. Essentially, the use of wearable technology can be effective during the present pandemic by creating a medium whereby a wide range of patient’s data (such as blood oxygen saturation level, lung sound, ECG, body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate) are integrated and monitored in more convenient formats (Islam et al, 2020). Mobile devices would come in handy in efforts to help promote preventative treatment for infectious and chronic diseases, and improve vaccine intake. On the other hand, use of telehealth devices could help improve the well-being of patients by, for instance, facilitating the sharing of certain aspects of the patient’s vitals with other healthcare providers (Kruse et al, 2019).

Although digital medicine improves delivery of healthcare services, it is important to note that there are various challenges that limit its implementation. For instance, lack of technological access happens to be a common barrier to implementation of mobile health. This is more so the case in regions or locations with poor network coverage. Yet another barrier happens to be cost. The cost of implementing and deploying some of the solutions and innovations associated with digital medicine could be prohibitive (Kruse et al, 2019). This is particularly the case when it comes to the acquisition of the relevant software and hardware. Other equally important barriers to implementation of digital medicine are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; resistance to change (i.e. among providers and staff), concerns about confidentiality and privacy of information, lack of training, language barriers, illiteracy, lack of public policy to guide implementation efforts, and technological gap (Kruse et al, 2019). It is also important to note that as Joseph (2020) suggests, one other factor that has not been prominently explored in the past is the influence of various social structural factors. For instance, in the words of the author, “social structural factors such as age, gender, education level, occupation and race/ethnicity, as well as people’s state of health and their geographical location play a major role in influencing how such technologies are taken up” (Joseph, 2013, p.109).

There are certain strategies that can be incorporated to overcome the barriers and challenges indicated above. Solutions in this case could be inclusive of the active involvement of all stakeholders in planning and implementation efforts, training of medical staff, and integration of diverse perspectives into implementation efforts. Meaningful partnerships between players can also be established with an aim of, for instance, sharing platforms so as to minimize acquisition and maintenance costs.