Healthcare Technology Featured Article

January 17, 2013

Technology can Help Stop the Flu

As the flu keeps spreading in vast areas around the country, hospitals and healthcare officials are trying to do everything they can in order to stop it, even if it means forcing workers to receive the vaccine.

This may sound drastic or even aggressive on the healthcare system’s part, but if you take into account the US is one of the most intense areas in the world right now being affected by the flu, you might change your opinion.

According to the charts from Google Trend Data, on a worldly spectrum , the US is currently experiencing the most intense flu activity. It also shows the flu has reached the highest levels we have ever seen.

With epidemics like these being brought to the attention of our healthcare system and government, it seems that technology is taking the reins to create solutions that could ultimately help solve health concerns.

Instead of 15 nurses and hospital staffers been being fired from their jobs over the past few months or the flu reaching such heightened levels of activities, healthcare could be using one of the newest creations in technology to help end the flu crisis, like videoconferencing.

Sometimes people physically can’t go to a doctor’s office or they may have personal issues that hinder them from seeking medical attention. Whatever the case, videoconferencing eliminates the problem of distance by allowing a doctor to help a patient from their home without any physical interaction. In cases like ones the US is currently facing, it can help contain the flu or any epidemic that is underway by containing it in a household or designated area. 

There is already highly advanced optimal video and audio quality that can be used to produce the most natural doctor-patient interactions, just like Healthspot has done.

Vidyo has begun to collaborate with HealthSpot to create a method of videoconferencing that could change the landscape for the way doctors communicate and respond to patients. Its latest creation is the Healthspot Station, a private, walk-in kiosk that offers patient access to diagnosis and treatment by doctors. This eliminates any physically interaction between the patient and any other person, reducing the chance for the flu to spread to anyone else.

While hoping to increase the quality and efficiency of healthcare, it also aims to reduce the costs so that patients are not hindered to take care of their health for financial reasons. With economic depression sweeping the country, some people just can’t afford to go to the doctor, which could be another reason for this flu epidemic.  

If videoconferencing could help decrease medical costs, there’s no predicting how many lives it can help save or protect from becoming ill. 

Edited by Rich Steeves

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