Impacts of Technology and Digital Connections to Society (Essay Sample)

Impacts of Technology and Digital Connections to Society
Digital Technology is an integral part of healthcare as it has assisted to revolutionize the medical practice. It has led to an increase in the operations and efficiency of medical care. The transformation has affected the patients positively as well as the health professional. The psychological treatment for mental health issues is as well undergoing several changes. The widespread change is driven by digital technology due to the availability of computers, mobile devices, the internet, smartphones, and the existence of software applications (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). Thus there are various areas where digital technology has led to enormous effects in healthcare, such as:
a) Increased access to Medical Information
The digital revolution has led to the storage and accessibility of data. Healthcare providers are able to retrieve the information for a specific patient from any part of the world (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). The internet and the intranet have also contributed to assisting the medics in sharing information rapidly, which has enhanced efficiency in the treatment and medical availability for the clients.
b) Improved Communication lines
Sometimes back, the healthcare workers used beepers as a sign of communication. However, today due to digital availability, communication is very easy. As they can be in touch via smartphones, emails and text messaging (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). The physicians do not have to go and send emails as they try to remind the patients of their appointments and when their tests will be carried out. It has become simple and cost-effective to pass a message to patients via social media, online platforms and video calls on the social media platforms (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). The practitioners can make use of teleconferencing to communicate with each other all over.
c) Electronic health records
In the past, large paper files were moved from one department to the other for the patient to be treated. This led to some of the documents missing as they were transported from one department to the other, like the medical charts (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). Besides, it would take long for the emergency departments to find some of the missing records. To refer a patient from one health Centre to the other was hectic as the records had to be sent in a large box for the patient’s condition. Having to gather all the documents was also tiresome as some were with the dentists, others with a psychiatrist (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). Therefore it was chaotic, and document storage was inefficient. Technology has made life easy as the health records today are stored electronically, and health providers can view a patient’s health record history (Mitchell & Kan, 2019). Hence there is smoother and easier medical records accessibility.
d) Psychological Treatment
Mental treatment is today receiving a great spread of the availability of digita