Technology is Giving Us Better Control of Our Lives
Technology is driving the efficiency of healthcare up and the cost down. The primary reason is because it is giving control back to the individual and the more an individual feels in control the more they will be in control.
Every day we are being transformed by new technologies that literally change our lives. Innovation has never happened faster. For examples we only need to point to the smart phone, the tablet, online shopping, bill paying, YouTube, and cars that park themselves.
Already, tools like FitBit and Fooducate help people track exercise and meals, while more serious medical apps like ResolutionMD help doctors diagnose stroke patients with their iPhones. There are medical apps on the market to monitor blood pressure, heartbeat, even detect malaria and Dengue fever symptoms.
Air Strip Technologies has built and deployed an FDA-cleared platform which allows patient information - including waveforms and other critical data from EMRs, bedside monitors and devices, pharmacy, lab, and other clinical information systems - to be securely accessed by physicians and nurses on their smart phones or tablets…anytime, and anywhere.
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- Air Strip OB mobilizes maternal/fetal waveforms (CTGs), annotations, exam status, medications, lab values, logistical information, and progress notes to improve communication during labor and delivery
- Air Strip cardiology digitizes and mobilizes 12- and 15- lead waveforms and measurements to support enhanced analytics, easier visual interpretation, and serial presentation of current and historic tracings
- Air Strip Patient Monitoring is an enterprise-wide solution that transmits; waveforms , vital signs, medication alerts, lab results, and allergy alerts as well as Emergency Medical Response Data for patients in ICU, CCU, PACU, OR, or EDTelemetry.
Recently, drug companies have also ventured into new areas of medical technology testing the bladder control drug Detrol using remote monitoring. Participants won't have to check into a clinic several times a day, thereby helping to reduce drug trial costs and ultimately enabling lower on-the-shelf prices.
Revolution Health is a health-related portal site similar to webMD. Users are urged to ask questions and answer other users’ questions, rate their doctors, participate in online discussions.. The site also has a number of tools to help people become healthier, such as a calculator that shows how long you need to do a given activity to lose a pound of weight, and a tool for showing you how much money an individual will save if he quits smoking.
Everyday Health is a leading provider of health solutions. The company provides consumers, healthcare professionals, and brands with content and advertising-based services across a broad portfolio of over 25 websites that span the health spectrum – from lifestyle offerings in pregnancy, diet and fitness, to in-depth medical content for condition prevention and management. 
Best Doctors gathers medical data together and provides second opinions and even re-doing lab tests to provide consumers with the best possible second opinion from some of the best doctors in the world.
Online personal decision support tools and apps from the app store can help consumers more effectively manage their own health and wellness, navigate the health care system and make more effective, informed health decisions. This will drive down costs and improve effectiveness by getting people more involved sooner –often while they are healthy. The goal is to move the consumer from passive use of health care to active involvement in staying healthy and when they do need health care to better, more informed questioning of the care they are receiving.
The key to health care cost control is to keep the Baby Boomers and Gen X healthier and develop technologies
that keep them at home and out of the hospital.
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