Digital technology has fundamentally transformed healthcare delivery, exerting profound influence on patient outcomes. This paper delves into the roles played by telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), and mobile health applications in augmenting healthcare services. The objective is to scrutinize the ways in which these digital innovations enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, while also identifying the attendant challenges in their adoption. To achieve this, a rigorous literature review encompassing peer-reviewed articles, reports, and case studies that examine the impact of digital technology in healthcare settings was conducted. The findings underscore that digital technology significantly bolsters patient care by enhancing access, operational efficiency, and diagnostic accuracy. Nonetheless, persistent challenges such as safeguarding data privacy, ensuring interoperability across systems, and managing implementation costs continue to pose significant hurdles.
References
[1]
Adler-Milstein, J. and Jha, A.K. (2017) HITECH Act Drove Large Gains in Hospital Electronic Health Record Adoption. Health Affairs, 36, 1416-1422. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1651
[2]
Agia, L., Agia, J., Rijo, R., Bollela, V. and Alves, D. (2022) SACI Protocol: Preliminary Guidelines for the Development of Digital Health Technologies for Clinical Trials in Brazil. E-Health Telecommunication Systems and Networks, 11, 85-100. https://doi.org/10.4236/etsn.2022.113006
[3]
Angraal, S., Krumholz, H.M. and Schulz, W.L. (2017) Blockchain Technology: Applications in Health Care. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 10, e003800. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.117.003800
[4]
Ash, J.S. and Bates, D.W. (2005) Factors and Forces Affecting EHR System Adoption: Report of a 2004 ACMI Discussion. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 12, 8-12. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M1684
[5]
Bender, B.G., Grana, R., Sharma, S. and Kallem, S. (2013) A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial to Explore the Impact of Mobile Health on Adherence and Outcomes in Asthma Patients. Journal of Asthma, 50, 490-496. https://doi.org/10.3109/02770903.2013.790417
[6]
Blumenthal, D. and Tavenner, M. (2010) The “Meaningful Use” Regulation for Electronic Health Records. New England Journal of Medicine, 363, 501-504. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1006114
[7]
Campanella, P., Lovato, E., Marone, C., Fallacara, L., Mancuso, A., Ricciardi, W. and Specchia, M.L. (2016) The Impact of Electronic Health Records on Healthcare Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. European Journal of Public Health, 26, 60-64. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckv122
[8]
Dorsey, E. and Topol, E. (2016) State of Telehealth. New England Journal of Medicine, 375, 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1601705
[9]
Esteva, A., Chou, K., Yeung, S., Naik, N., Madani, A., Mottaghi, A. and Topol, E.J. (2021) Deep Learning-Enabled Medical Computer Vision. NPJ Digital Medicine, 4, Article No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-00376-2
[10]
Free, C., Phillips, G., Galli, L., Watson, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P. and Haines, A. (2013) The Effectiveness of Mobile-Health Technologies to Improve Health Care Service Delivery Processes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLOS Medicine, 10, e1001363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001363
[11]
Jiang, F., Jiang, Y., Zhi, H., Dong, Y., Li, H., Ma, S. and Wang, Y. (2017) Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Past, Present and Future. Stroke and Vascular Neurology, 2, 230-243. https://doi.org/10.1136/svn-2017-000101
[12]
Koonin, L.M., Hoots, B., Tsang, C.A., Leroy, Z., Farris, K., Jolly, B. and McCabe, B. (2020) Trends in the Use of Telehealth during the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic—United States, January-March 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69, 1595-1599. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6943a3
[13]
Kruse, C.S., Regier, V. and Rheinboldt, K.T. (2016) Barriers Overcome: Telemedicine and E-Health, 2016. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18, e282. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.6269
[14]
Kvedar, J., Coye, M.J. and Everett, W. (2014) Connected Health: A Review of Technologies and Strategies to Improve Patient Care with Telemedicine and Telehealth. Health Affairs, 33, 194-199. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0992
[15]
Matiang’I, M., Ngunju, P., Hetyey, A., Odek, L., Smet, E., Arnoldus, M., Opanga, Y. and Kiilu, C. (2022) Opportunities to Integrate Primary Health Care Digital Innovations in Maternal and Child Health Care Services in Kenya. Open Journal of Clinical Diagnostics, 12, 39-54. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojcd.2022.123005
[16]
Smedlund, A., Turkama, P. and Ikävalko, H. (2018) Digital Health Platform Complementor Strategies and Effectual Reasoning. Journal of Service Science and Management, 11, 360-373. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2018.114025
[17]
Taylor-Phillips, S., Grove, A., Hoffmeister, S., Wheaton, M., Coult, S., Essex, J., Hackney, J., Cioccio, S. and Clarke, A. (2014) Going “Paperless” in an English National Health Service (NHS) Breast Cancer Screening Service: The Introduction of Fully Digital Mammography. Health, 6, 468-474. https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2014.65065
