These days, when healthcare meets wireless communications, a heart patient in a US city gets a call from his doctor who is concerned about his latest ECG data received a few minutes ago from the patience’s wireless monitor device. A woman has a car accident, and right at the moment of the collision, personal vital sign information is sent by the car’s wireless system to the emergency services, to give her the treatment she needs. An elderly couple receives reminders to take medications three times daily via their mobile phones.
Previously, the extent of wireless communication’s contribution to saving lives was the emergency number or a doctor’s pager. Today, critical information from patients, family members and caregivers is getting to healthcare providers more quickly and vice versa. This acceleration is bringing fundamental improvements to prevention and treatment of our most significant health risks.
In just the last few years, advanced technologies such as 3G wireless voice and broadband have transformed the delivery of healthcare services and created countless new possibilities for patient care. Medical professionals can now use instruments to achieve patient-centric tasks such as remote/home-based patient monitoring, wireless ordering and tracking systems for medications, and receiving medical data via wireless devices in real time.
In short, wireless technologies can now be used to help people before they get to the hospital (or even prevent them having to be hospitalized), while they are in the hospital and after they have been discharged.
The key benefit is the individualized healthcare experience, with a focus on preventative rather than reactive healthcare. 3G wireless technology can now connect patients, caregivers and physicians at all times.
Patient data can be viewed by the patient and caregiver, and be reviewed remotely by his or her doctor. Patients and their families receive input from their healthcare provider and, at the same time, can monitor health performance and use that information to adjust behavior -- a technique called “course correcting.” Wireless sensors, currently in the marketplace, can also track important vital signs such as blood sugar, blood pressure, sleep state and even caloric intake and expenditure.