Page 6 - THE ORACLE MAGAZINE October'23 EDITION

Moreover, the more machinery and digital
programs that are introduced into health systems,
the greater the amount of standardization of
protocols and approaches will have to occur to
ensure quality control, maximum efficiency and
reduce anomalies or variety in outcomes. This
means that care will potentially become less
tailored and individualized to the patient. It also
means a gradual lack of human contact which
diminishes the crucial need for empathy and
human observation when examining a patient in
any sector of medicine.
Technology in healthcare has evolved to having
robots that can safely perform surgery for various
procedures. This method of surgery reduces human
errors such as hand tremors, fatigue and stress
that would possibly affect the surgery, also
allowing for greater precision due to their designs,
like increased flexibility. Such machinery would be
especially useful in countries where the doctor-to-
patient ratio is imbalanced and would help alleviate
the pressure and time constraints of human
surgeons. That being said, there is skepticism
surrounding the use of robots for procedures, due
to the potential, however unlikely, of technological
issues putting the patient in danger, as well as the
loss of human expertise and autonomy in the
medical field. Furthermore, the case with any
technological development is that it is costly and
requires updating and maintenance, meaning it
may not be a sustainable option for aiding
healthcare, especially not on a global scale due to
the reforms and previously mentioned
standardization countries' health systems would
have to undergo to adapt to new machinery as well
as have the means to upkeep it.
Overall, the dilemma of whether to embrace the
increasing, widespread use of various types and
levels of technology in healthcare is multifaceted.
The key to reaching a healthy balance between the
aid of tech and personalized human-to-human care
in the medical field relies on not becoming overly
reliant on technology. As well as maintaining the
focus of medicine on the patients individual needs
while gaining pivotal insight on population health
trends, to understand a multitude of diagnoses
across a wide variety of conditions, environments
and of course patients themselves.
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THE ORACLE MAGAZINE