Medicine is ever evolving, but it might surprise you to hear how far we’ve come even since the turn of the century. Advancements in technology have allowed for some amazing upgrades in medicine that could only be imagined in sci-fi movies before, and new developments in drugs have vastly increased the average life expectancy, from 77.74 in 2000 to a high of 81.3 in 2014. Read on to find out more about our top picks for the most influential advancements in medicine. Information technology An often overlooked but greatly impactful aspect of medicine, information technology has allowed for the smooth and faster running of hospitals. Like every other aspect of life, technology has infiltrated hospitals and GPs at a basic and far-reaching level, allowing for safer and more secure running of hospitals as well as aiding diagnosis earlier and minimally invasive procedures to create less pain and quicker healing. Rather than sifting through filing rooms for that one patient, staff can access a patient’s file on cloud storage, where it is free from other prying eyes. Remote consultations allow for neither patient or doctor to travel to do a consultation, and an encyclopedia of symptoms and treatments are available at doctors’ fingertips. Technology has taken the routine and tedious aspects of patient care out of the equation, or at least streamlined it, so that doctors can focus on their patients. Filing, record maintenance and other routine tasks, are all done quickly with the help of apps and cloud storage. Streamlining processes like no exam life insurance allows for doctors to focus on the care of their patients while you offer other evidence like family history and pre-existing conditions. Doctors are working faster, patients get seen quicker, their prescriptions are issued sooner. (more…)