People are living longer these days than ever before and they are healthier, too, as a result of breakthroughs in medicine, but innovative uses of information technology might play an increasingly important role, as well, in the future, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens.
A new report published by Kaiser Health News suggests that the ability of computers and software to sort and analyze patient data can take a lot of the guesswork out of diagnostics and treatment.
“Computers could ultimately help doctors match specific treatments at the molecular level to the people for whom they would work best. Software might also detect patterns in data that would suggest new uses for existing drugs,” according to KHN.
The report envisions a day when patients might wear “wireless” patches that continuously relay health data that can detect problems on the fly “before they blossom into expensive diagnoses.”