Health IT and related technologies have come a long way in supporting and managing public health across the globe. Read more here.
The reach of health IT goes beyond the clinical settings and everyday doctor’s offices. Health information technology impacts our daily lives and influences our communities. Public health issues and concerns typically receive a lot more attention this time of year. After all, December through February is generally known as flu season in many parts of the United States. Moreover, the global media and information sphere is picking up on a bunch of topics related to the 2019 novel coronavirus and the outbreak spreading across the world. Throughout the discussion of public health, it would be remiss to not mention how health IT has supported public health efforts in our modern history.
What is Public Health?
The CDC Foundation describes public health as “the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.” Overall, the main concentration of effort is geared towards protecting the health of populations. Professionals work in various avenues to tackle public health problems, from policy-making to educating the masses.
Another vital role of public health is addressing issues with healthcare disparities. Communities with unequal or lesser access to health information, services, resources, and technology are more vulnerable to poor health and medical conditions.
What Role Does Health IT Play?
Health IT can work to equalize the socio-economic limitations affecting different communities. Using available healthcare technologies and information gives underserved places and people the means to receive critical public health information and services. Mobile devices have played a considerable role in improving accessibility in many ways. Patients can connect with their physicians and resources more efficiently, and take charge of managing their health to prevent disease spreading throughout their communities. Further, personal devices can compile population health information into big data. These large data sets can then be monitored or computationally altered to get an understanding of public health conditions.
Real-World Applications
The tracking and predictive capabilities involved with big data have allowed researchers and authorities to manage several public health crises in the past. Following and predicting the spread of infectious diseases informs where resources should be allocated to contain the situation. Making this information available to the general public in responsible manners enables populations to take control of their healthcare while limiting the spread of false information.
Informative capabilities of telehealth help bridge the communication gap that usually threatens public health and safety. With telehealth services and technologies, patients and physicians alike have more access to the critical health information that they can use to protect themselves and their communities.
Healthcare IT Services and Solutions from Audley Consulting Group
The experts at Audley Consulting Group dedicate their passion and work to providing exceptional healthcare-centered IT services to our clients. Our consultants uncover your business needs to tailor an effective information technology solution that is unique to your situation. We proudly serve public and private sector clients in the Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia areas, and beyond. Audley Consulting group has delivered value-added IT services to businesses and government agencies. We can show how our healthcare IT services can benefit you too. To get started, call us at 301-770-6464, or visit our website. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.