It may be time to start thinking about putting more robots and automation in our healthcare system. This is important and takes on even more relevance with the current pandemic and the levels and rate of infection of COVID-19.
We’ve always heard about how important it is to have a good night’s sleep to allow the body, especially our brain, to rest. Sleep has a lot to do with how healthy we are.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Good quality sleep is essential for good health and well-being. However, lifestyle and environmental factors are increasingly causing difficulties in sleeping. Sleep disturbance is frequently considered the most serious consequence of environmental noise.
Hospital admissions for Jamaica have been traditionally high, especially with the level of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among our population. Often, there is a bottleneck in accident and emergency departments, with patients sleeping in chairs and, in some cases, in stretchers, as they wait for an available bed to be identified. This is a major issue for us because our hospitals are always operating at peak levels, especially in the accident and emergency departments.
In any organisation, large or small, how quickly and efficiently departments can communicate with each other can directly impact how well that organisation performs. Already, we rely a lot on technology to operate businesses and to get work done but largely this is treated as a ‘matter of fact’ phenomenon.
Healthcare is a demanding job and with a pandemic added, it becomes even more so, with many working more hours than they normally would have. This, along with several other factors, can lead to burnout.
COVID-19 has shed light on the importance of having a connected health network to be able to more efficiently coordinate supplies and equipment across health sector facilities.
The difficulty in sourcing and distributing essential items and equipment that was experienced in some countries at the beginning of the spread of the virus was a call for a closer examination of the technology systems in health that can facilitate better information transfer and management.
The announcement that a vaccine for COVID-19 is ready is one that has brought much relief to many persons around the world. Vaccines have, for decades, been one of the best tools to prevent certain diseases.
Since Jamaica began its vaccine programme, the country has been successful in eliminating or significantly reducing the occurrence of certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines work, and there is no doubt about that. We have made remarkable progress and our vaccine programme has consistently attained high percentages in terms of the number of persons who are vaccinated.
The current global pandemic has led to many rethinking the way they do business and coming up with ingenuous ways to continue commerce while serving the needs of their customers. Almost every type of business has been affected in some way; the healthcare industry is no exception.
While there will always be need for care and medicine, the fact that people are urged to stay home as much as possible and avoid gathering in large groups means that there needs to also be an adjustment in how these types of businesses operate.
The use of robots across all industries is becoming more and more popular but is far from new. According to the International Federation of Robotics, “a total of 2.7 million industrial robots now operate in factories around the world. The ongoing automation trend and technical improvements rapidly change industrial production.” ( https://ifr.org/).
Continuing education is very important in the field of medicine. The medical professional is usually hard-pressed to find the time to dedicate to face-to-face sessions and may therefore appreciate a mix of options. Surely, there are instances where courses can be completed online. However, there is need for more of these, especially now that face-to-face interaction has been largely restricted and events have mostly been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
