Let's Get Digital.

 Connecting The Concepts Of Digital Health 

Digital Health is a realm of technology that is becoming more wide in its abilities as technology advances. Digital health can include devices that one can wear or use with their everyday lifestyle, mobile health apps, telehealth, telemedicine, and health information technology. Computer software allows researchers to analyze large data sets and find patterns in medical information. Software and algorithms can assist with medical decision-making based on collected data and clinical findings, and telemedicine increases access to care for those who experience difficulties accessing medical care (Northern Kentucky University, 2023). These are especially helpful in public health informatics, consumer health informatics, clinical research informatics, translational informatics, and clinical informatics.   

Hardware Makes It Easy

Computer hardware plays a crucial role in healthcare by providing the necessary tools and resources for efficient data management, communication, and diagnostic processes. It allows healthcare professionals to access patient records, use medical imaging systems, and securely transfer data (Ms. Codes, n.d.). The hardware allows them technology in digital health to run, process, store, access, and share information. This also allows equipment to produce accurate diagnosis in a timely manner so that the doctors are able to work on the best treatment plan for the patient. Patient Data Security also is a big factor that is included in the topic of computer hardware in the medical/digital health industry. Firewalls, encryption technology, and authentication systems are some of the security measures taken in order to protect the data stored to keep patient’s information safe. 

Language Is the Code To Success

In the world of digital health, programming languages are used to help with software, security, and medical coding. Compiled languages are favored for their performance, security, portability and optimizable capabilities which result in faster coding execution, enhanced security, platform compatibility, resource efficiency and are suited to handle complex applications (3D Tek, 2024). Interpreted languages are well liked because of their flexibility, platform independence, ease of learning and interactive development environments (3D Tek, 2024). General-purpose languages are known to be very versatile as they have widely applicable programming languages suitable for web development, mobile apps and data analysis used in the healthcare industry (3D Tek, 2024). Functional languages focus on core elements of code, promote immutability, higher-order functions and concurrency (3D Tek, 2024). Within digital health and the healthcare industry, the top three languages that are shown as the best for software developers were Python, PHP and Java. Python was ranked first as it is shown to be versatile, simple, has an extensive ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, and is easy to integrate into other systems and workflows seamlessly (3D Tek, 2024). Programming languages are one of the backbones to digital health as they are the reason we are able to code everything into the systems to get them functioning. 

The Appeal to the Application

Application software in digital health plays the role of making information easily accessible and organized for the facility and the patient. Electronic health records are one of the main types of softwares used in hospitals as they are easy to transfer from different institutions so that patients do not have to constantly remember everything discussed at another practice and electronic records allow for more security (Intellectsoft, 2023) EHR are extremely beneficial in an emergency situation as there are times where they patient can be unresponsive or not fully aware of what  is going on in order to tell providers necessary information. Having the patient's information stored electronically is an easily accessible way for providers to know what precautions or steps to take in order to decide what is best for the patient's next care steps (Intellectsoft, 2023).  Hospital management systems are made up of electronic health records, appointment scheduling modules, e-prescriptions, and customer relationship management systems. They can also include patient room management, inventory tracking, billing and accounting, operating room scheduling, and other knowledge (Intellecsoft, 2023). Along with these, application software can include health tracking software, medical imaging software, medical research and analytics software, medical training software, and many other forms to help with the medical industry (Intellectsoft, 2023). 

Back to the Basics

Digital health relates to basic concepts of database and database management to store, organize, and analyze data. Health data management helps integrate and enables analysis to make patient care more efficient (Cloudian, n.d.). With this, there have been proven benefits such as a comprehensive view of status and enable predictions, improved patient engagement, improved health outcomes, better business decision making and analyzing physician activity (Cloudian, n.d). Basic concepts such as network architecture, management, and security in digital health are very crucial to everyday usage within the medical industry. These concepts can be shown through telehealth, electronic health records, firewalls, authentication systems, monitoring, and troubleshooting. These are very crucial to keep up to date and monitored not only to make sure patient information does not fall victim to a security threat, but to also make sure hardware and devices are supported and functioning up to date to provide the most accurate results in an efficient manner. 

Digital Health Is Wealth.

Digital health is a growing tool within the medical industry that is starting to become more normalized in our everyday lifestyle. It is shown to be more important than just being used within a medical environment. Digital health can be tracked through mobile devices, jewelry and other things to help keep track of patient health and connect with your provider about necessary information in a secure platform thanks to technological advancements throughout the years. Within the next few years, we will more than likely see an exciting shift in relying more on digital health which could be convenient and beneficial for not only humans, but technology. 

Best Programming Languages For Healthcare Software Development in 2024. (2024, March 26). 3D Tek. https://3dtek.com/blog/best-programming-languages-for-healthcare-software-development-in-2024#:~:text=SQL%20(Structured%20Query%20Language)%20is,systems%2C%20and%20healthcare%20analytics%20platforms.

Computer Hardware Used in Technology. (n.d.). Ms. Codes. https://ms.codes/blogs/computer-hardware/computer-hardware-used-in-healthcare#:~:text=Computer%20hardware%20plays%20a%20crucial%20role%20in%20healthcare%20by%20providing,systems%2C%20and%20securely%20transfer%20data. 

Extending Computer Science Background Into Healthcare. (2023, January 23). Northern Kentucky University. https://onlinedegrees.nku.edu/programs/business/informatics/mshi/computer-science-background-into-healthcare/. 

Health Data Management: Benefits, Challenges, and Storage. (n.d.). Cloudian. https://cloudian.com/guides/hipaa-compliant-cloud-storage/health-data-management/#3. 

10 Most Popular Types of Software Used in Healthcare. (2023, June 8). Intellectsoft. https://www.intellectsoft.net/blog/most-popular-types-of-software-used-in-healthcare/.