It is widely agreed upon that 2021 is going to be a big year for innovations – tech related, and otherwise. Even in 2020, despite the circumstances that stemmed from the Covid-19 Pandemic, we were still able to establish new peaks of development and advancements.
Often, the most groundbreaking new developments are initially met with pushback and nay-sayers. Think about the development of the smartphone, which many were convinced would never take off. These devices are in the pockets of almost everyone in the United States, and are used regularly for not only our personal lives, but are also the basis of countless professional operations. Similarly, the benefits of Amazon Prime 2-day delivery services were once entirely foreign. Eventually, however, this offering changed the face of the eCommerce industry, and established 2-day delivery a standard to strive for. It is now a basic expectation of most online consumers.
Looking to the future, there are innovations on the horizon that might seem like something out of a sci-fi movie. For instance, Uber is testing an offering that would allow consumers to book helicopter flights through their mobile app. While this service would be relatively expensive, it’s not farfetched to say that there might be a considerable market with a desire for this amount of travel flexibility. Additionally, the advancement of autonomous cars sparked the conversation around autonomous buildings: a company called BrainBox uses artificial intelligence to predict weather forecasts and adjust internal temperatures accordingly. Ultimately, this technology is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of individual establishments. These applications might seem far-fetched now, but they could impact our day-to-day lives in the very near future.
The same kind of advancements are constantly being made in healthcare. Notably, the development of the mRNA vaccine is breaking ground as we speak. Is this something that will become so commonplace that we won’t be able to remember what life was like before its creation? The same can be said for artificial intelligence and predictive analytics in healthcare. These developments are happening, and should be implemented now in order to keep up with what will – hopefully – become the standard of care that patients expect.
The public as a whole is gaining a greater understanding of the benefits that artificial intelligence can bring to their lives, their homes, and their organizations. Why not bring those same benefits to their healthcare? The application of artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be imposing; you might be benefitting from it every day without even realizing. For instance, the grocery industry has developed AI systems that allow them to account for products purchased that might not get bought off the shelves (reducing shrinkage, spoilage, etc.), and the airline industry uses the same systems to predictively hold seats on planes for passengers that are going to book closer to the last minute and are going to pay more for the seat out of necessity (reducing spill). Medical software should be developing just as quickly to keep up with the advancements of other industries.
This is exactly why Opargo has been diligent about developing and upgrading software to make these accomplishments feasible for medical practices. We are utilizing the same technology that has been ingrained in other industries for years to improve patient care and practice/provider efficiency at the time of scheduling. Booking patient visits with artificial intelligence could soon become the expectation across healthcare providers. Organizations that are able to make this adoption early will understand how it can change the way your practice is run – for the better.
