If you became sick in the early 20th century the norm was for the physician to come to your house to exam you, not you drive to their office to wait to be seen.  In the 1960's physician home visits started to decline and expectation became that if their patient was ill they would either go to the Emergency Room of the local hospital or visit their office.  In rural areas this made it hard for those that needed to see a physician near impossible.  While physician house calls seem like an antiquated idea the advent of new information and communication technologies is making house calls possible once again.  Technological innovations such as the internet and web cameras are enabling physicians to monitor their patients health at home.  This technology is an excellent medium for mental health care due to some patients inability to leave their homes due to a depressive or anxiety disorder. Genetic Counselors can use technology to discuss a patient's family history and genetic test results.  Hospitals, such as Boston Children's Hospital, have taken the technology to the next level and sent surgery patients home with robots that parents can use to communicate with the doctors and nurses for follow-up versus driving into the hospital for each visit. 

Advances in information and communication technologies is also helping to advance how aware a person is of their health. The internet provides numerous resources to discuss weight loss, symptoms of diseases and sickness, proper nutrition and any other topic you may think of!  As people become more aware of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles they may choose to want to improve their health.  This may prompt them to purchase a wearable healthcare device such as a FitBit to track their activity, sleep and average calorie burn.  They can then share this data with friends by using the FitBit app on their smartphone.  They may also use other apps on their smartphone such as MyFitnessPal to track their food intake and use the message board feature to get support from other people trying to lose weight.

My goal with this blog is to discuss new healthcare technologies that enable people to access to the care and tools they need to live a healthy life on their time and in a medium that is convenient for them rather than having to make time in their schedule to visit a health care provider.  I believe these advances are going to benefit everyone.