How Has The Healthcare Industry Updated Since The Pandemic

Undoubtedly, the recent pandemic is one of the most significant and influential events in history. From our lifestyles to health, the pandemic has impacted every facet of our lives, while on the other hand, the global economy has suffered major losses. However, in such a situation, the healthcare industry has undergone the deepest impact, as it’s responsible for controlling the pandemic. As soon as the pandemic had begun, the healthcare industry had to face countless challenges and demands. Fortunately, the industry dealt with the changes effectively by coming up with innovative ideas and techniques to counter the pandemic. For example, hospitals initiated updated protocols to care for patients while the concept of remote healthcare spread further. Here are some important ways the healthcare industry has updated since the pandemic.

1. Increased Importance Of Nurses

Throughout the pandemic, nurses have been at the forefront of fighting against the COVID-19 virus. The role of nurses was critical to controlling the pandemic, as the only treatment was care, which is best provided by nurses. As a result, the pandemic highlighted the importance of nurses for the healthcare industry in challenging situations. Therefore, the demand for nurses has increased significantly. In fact, several hospitals face a shortage of nurses. 

So, if you aspire to join the workforce of such important individuals, it’s best to advance in your education from having a BSN degree to attaining a doctorate in nursing practice. However, it can be quite challenging to pursue higher education. Therefore, it’s a good idea to follow an online program. So, make sure to enroll in an online BSN to DNP program to join the nursing workforce.

2. Greater Emphasis On Preventative Healthcare

As the COVID-19 virus had no specific cure, nor was there any vaccine available for most of the pandemic, the only option left for treatment was preventative healthcare. This type of approach helped to prevent people from contracting the virus in the first place, controlling the pandemic effectively. For example, the healthcare industry has started to promote the use of face masks and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. 

While preventative healthcare was present even before the pandemic, it has significantly increased since the pandemic. Without the use of preventative measures, not only do people suffer illnesses, but there is also a waste of healthcare resources that would otherwise be saved. The pandemic has helped to reveal this fact further, causing the healthcare industry to emphasize preventative measures. People are often encouraged to take screening tests to find out any health-related issues before they get worse. The healthcare industry has also been promoting preventative medicine and lifestyle.

3. Rise Of Telemedicine

The nature of the pandemic could not allow doctors to diagnose patients physically in person without risking their own health. This approach placed other patients at risk as well. The COVID-19 virus was too contagious for such techniques to be used. In such a situation, telemedicine or remote healthcare techniques rose rapidly. In fact, telehealth visits increased by 50% during the first quarter of 2020. With the help of telecommunications technologies such as video calls and messaging, healthcare professionals were able to diagnose and treat patients remotely without risking their own health. This helped to reduce the spread of the virus, controlling the pandemic effectively. 

However, the use of telemedicine will continue to rise even after the pandemic, as the 

pandemic has shown how fragile conventional healthcare techniques can be. Telemedicine techniques are now used even if the patient has not contracted any contagious disease. Follow-up visits, preventative care support, and post-hospitalization care are often performed through telemedicine techniques. This helps to cut travel costs while allowing people in inaccessible areas to receive high-quality healthcare. Chronically ill patients are also opting for telemedicine for treatment, as it’s more convenient for them.

4. Increase In Elderly Care

During the pandemic, the elderly population was perhaps the most severely affected by the virus. Degrading health coupled with an uncurable virus made the elderly population incredibly vulnerable. This revealed some of the flaws in the healthcare industry, as initially, the healthcare industry was not able to cope with a large number of older COVID-19 patients. This was mainly due to the low importance of aged care services, while 1 in 4 elderly people required assistance in everyday activities during the pandemic. Hospitals and clinics lacked the specialties, equipment, and departments needed to provide the right care to elderly patients. 

However, the healthcare industry soon acknowledged the importance of aged care services. Several hospitals and clinics have now integrated aged care services to provide the best possible care to older people, especially in situations such as the pandemic. Pre-existing aged care services are also changing to adapt better care techniques, such as testing older people.

5. Use Of Data Analytics

To control the pandemic effectively, healthcare professionals needed to understand its behavior and characteristics. The best way to do so was by analyzing the data collected about patients. The large amount of data collected from patients across the globe gave researchers and physicians a deeper insight into the causes and treatments of COVID-19. For example, data analytics tools were used to identify trends and patterns regarding virus spread and mutation. Data analysis also allowed healthcare professionals to test control strategies by analyzing the results obtained. Future predictions about virus hotspots were also made easier, allowing the healthcare industry to alert people about rising virus spread.

Overall, the pandemic revealed how useful data analytics could be in extremely challenging situations. Data analysis results allowed healthcare professionals to see the situation more clearly, finding hidden trends and problems. As a result, data analysis is now rising in the healthcare industry as we see the health informatics sector becoming more popular.

There isn’t a single industry that wasn’t affected by the pandemic. However, the healthcare sector suffered a significantly greater challenge of controlling the pandemic. The healthcare industry indeed passed through tough times. However, on the bright side, it came out as more experienced in solving such crises. The ways mentioned above are proof of how the industry has updated ever since the pandemic.