Medicine 4.0

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medicine 4.0 describes the interlinking of medical care using information and communication technology . The term is therefore closely related to the term Industry 4.0 . In contrast to this, Medicine 4.0, as a directly personal service, includes the human factor in the process of service provision. At this stage of development, the processes of providing medical services are increasingly merging with information technology. This is intended to increase the flexibility of the provision of medical services and to individualize it more towards the patient.

designation

The designation “Medicine 4.0” is intended to express that a fourth development step is pending within medicine. The first step in development means the emergence of modern medicine in the 19th century, which goes hand in hand with the establishment of modern anesthesia around 1846. This is followed by the second step, in which technology finds its way into medicine. The introduction of X-ray equipment at the beginning of the 20th century marks the beginning of this step. In this phase, hospitals develop into facilities in which medical services are increasingly provided according to industrial principles. The third step marks the introduction of IT in medicine and the increasing automation of individual tasks. The patient data is digitally recorded and archived. The introduction of the Robotic with the "Puma 200" in 1985 can be seen as the start of this development step. In the fourth development step, the information from the service providers is linked to one another. In addition, more and more (partially) autonomous systems are being added.

Digital change

Many functions in healthcare facilities are becoming more and more digital. For example, electronic medical records are already widely used to capture patient data and access it when making medical decisions. Digital medical imaging systems are used by medical professionals to discuss and share images from inside the body with colleagues. Applications from the area of ​​"Mobile Health" (mHealth) allow doctors and patients to use mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and to access information and resources anytime and anywhere.

According to the HIMSS Analytics Mobile Devices study published in 2014, more than half of the hospitals in the USA rely on smartphones and tablets (HIMSS Analytics 2014). 69 percent of hospital doctors access data using a PC or laptop as well as a mobile device. With existing information and communication technologies, telemedicine gives patients broader access to standard and special treatments and thus removes geographical barriers.

Another example of digital applications are real-time location systems (RTLS), which can be used to locate devices, patients and employees. In addition to the new technologies, institutions in the healthcare industry are developing leaner processes in order to create automated digital processes. Combined with the "smart" end devices, this results in further developed medical services that can be counted as Medicine 4.0.

Problems in Medicine 4.0

The fear of change can be seen as a hurdle in the way of the introduction of Medicine 4.0. In a survey from 2016, 27 percent of the experts questioned gave this as the reason. For around 21 percent of these, the traditional thinking of the individual professional groups within the system is the biggest hurdle, just as many mention the lack of a clear legal framework for data protection . However, nudging can lead to incorrect management and wrong decisions.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BMBF Internet editorial office: Industry 4.0 - BMBF. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Math, Magic and Patient - Kohlhammer Hospital. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  3. ↑ BMBF Internet editors: Digitization in Medicine - BMBF. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  4. ^ Saarland University Hospital - History of Anesthesia. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  5. ^ Heidelberg University Hospital: Brief history of radiology. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Catarina Caetano da Rosa: Surgical Robots in Action: Controversial Innovations in Medical Technology . Transcript, ISBN 978-3-8376-2165-5 .
  7. ↑ Essentials Brief: 2014 Mobile Devices Study . In: HIMSS Analytics . December 9, 2014 ( himssanalytics.org [accessed May 10, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Health Industry : The Long Road to Medicine 4.0 . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed on May 10, 2017]).
  9. ↑ Paul Dolan include: Mind Place: influencing behavior through public policy. 2014.
  10. ↑ Carsten Könneker : Our digital future: In which world do we want to live? , Springer-Verlag 2017, page 10