Hi, I am Kelly Everson, till now contributed health,
beauty and technology related article to various websites. Angelica gave me an
opportunity to write for her website. I am glad she gave me this opportunity.
Overview
With latest technological advancements, traditional
health care treatments continue to undergo major transformations, which are
tailored to be effective for the current population that is increasingly
becoming more vulnerable. For many centuries, traditional medicine has been in
use for treating patients using remedies derived from plants and animals. While
majority of populations in Asia and Africa continue to use traditional
medicine, developed nations are rapidly gaining the appeal. A recent survey
conducted by US medical students indicates that Western medicine can
significantly benefit through integration of traditional or alternative
practices and therapies.
Desperate For New Drugs
The fact remains that modern medicine is desperately
trying everything to come up with new treatments. Despite of advancements in
latest technology, new drugs take several years for research and development to
be carried out. In addition, the production cost is enormous, which makes some
drugs unviable in the current market. Plus there is an increase in drug resistance,
which is in part triggered by the misuse of medications. Antibiotics as well as
other life-saving drugs have been rendered useless as a result. With these
trends, drug manufacturers and scientists are shifting their focus to
traditional medicine. The stoked interests have identified some traditional medicines
that are highly effective and less costly, like artemisinin for treating
malaria.
Challenges
in Reframing Traditional Medicine
The greatest challenge that stands between the use
traditional medicine and integration with latest technology is the expertise to
incorporate its knowledge into modern healthcare while ensuring that it is safe
and effective. In addition, there are concerns among conservationists that the
increase in traditional medicine market poses threats on biodiversity through
overexploitation of medicinal plants or use of body parts from endangered
animals. Practice, evaluation and management of natural resources are some of
the major challenges facing reframing traditional medicine with latest
technology.
Latest
Technology Impact
In reference to Bruce Broussard, the president and CEO
at Humana, technology has reshaped not only the economy, but has also brought a
new era of consumerism, making things accessible, simpler and affordable. By
delivering a more personalized customer experience using latest technology, pharmaceutical
companies can successfully evolve their business models from transactions to establish
stronger relationships with patients.
Enhanced
Research
Using latest technology, scientists are now able to
identify the active ingredients of traditional health treatments to molecular
and cellular level. Technology has also enabled the invention of medical equipment’s
to clearly understand various functions in the body and help to come up with appropriate
cures that are safe. The history of traditional medicine has been properly
documented with massive data available to better understand individual’s health
picture for future treatments.
Modeling
Clinical Trial
Latest technology has invented microchips that are
used in modeling clinical trials in an effort to transform the current
healthcare system that use animals. This makes clinical trial more accurate and
efficient in treating human patients while sparing the lives of countless
animals that are used in testing. These microchips are smaller than the size of
your thumb, and can therefore reconstruct the complicated interface between
your organs and blood vessels. These innovations will play a major role in reframing
traditional procedures and treatments to cure diseases.
Improved
Customer Experience
In tradition medicine, diagnosis of illnesses relied
mostly on physical symptoms that patients exhibited. Technology has led to the
discovery of medical equipment’s that are accurate in gathering information
from patients for accurate diagnosis. For instance, Dr. Rafael Grossmann, the
first surgeon to use Google Glass wearable technology, says that the innovation
enables them to better meet the needs of patients and healthcare providers
expect it will impact their experience in receiving and administering care. Dr. Grossman also believes that wearable
technology will make doctors more effective in doing their job because of the
improved communication between them and their patients.
Spotting
Potential Side Effects
Most traditional medicine healers believed that plant
and animal remedies were safe and free of side effects. Latest technology has
led to the discovery of potential side effects from the use of traditional
medicine. For instance, a government agency in South Africa has been conducting
an HIV-treatment trial using traditional herbal medicine (Africa Flower) that has
been used for several decades to treat wasting symptoms linked with HIV. Locals
believe Africa Flower is an effective antiviral. It is widely used in boosting
immune systems of AIDS victims. However, latest technology using in vitro
pharmacokinetic suggest that in higher doses, traditional medicine with Africa
flower can interfere with vaccines and animal models show liver toxicity.
Scientific
Validation
Latest technology has contributed significantly in
ensuring the social value regarding study devising and implementing. Although international
research on alternative or traditional medicine is no exceptional, topics about
scientific validity face challenges like establishing inclusion and exclusion
areas, use of appropriate result measures and drafting study designs. Latest
technology has enabled researchers in balancing both internal and external
validity of herbal medicine. Internal validation starts with a hypothesized
link between an intervention and outcome under regulated conditions. External
validation refers to the applicability of the study results to target
populations outside a target population. With latest technology, researches on
traditional medicine can be performed on participants from every corner of the
world.
Conclusion
Traditional health care treatments are being reframed
in several ways by the latest technology. Unlike most new drugs that takes time
before they are found to be safe and effective, traditional treatments and
procedures are in history books due to their benefits. This is the main reason some
modern healthy professionals are watching keenly on alternative or traditional
treatments after their innovations are met with setbacks. Let’s hope that latest
technology will be a major breakthrough in refining traditional treatments for fighting
diseases in the future.
Informative
Video
7
Bad Habits That Age You Faster
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References:
Author
Bio
Kelly Everson is MA in English Literature and an
American Author. Her work comprises of articles appearing or forthcoming in
over a dozen health care websites covering beauty skin care, weight loss, diet
and overall men’s & women’s health. When she’s not educating strangers with
her writing, she’s most likely researching about new discoveries in health,
fitness and beauty industry. You can see more of her work at
ConsumerHealthDigest.com. Connect with her on Facebook
and Twitter.
