Move On Academy

IMPACT OF THE FOURTH

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN
THE HEALTH SECTOR

Barbara Murga
Teens VIII
Teacher Ana Briceño
September 26th 2023
 Technology has been the motor of the industrial revolution during
some decades, it represents the massive change in the world and in
the life of all of us. Most significantly, because it gave us a large
amount of benefits that our ancestors would not never imagine.
Nowadays, the most important industry in the earth is known as 4IR,
Industry 4.0 or Fourth Industrial Revolution to name an era of
connectivity, this is a term coined in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, who is the
Founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which is an international
non-governmental organization for multinational companies. Likewise,
this device has been characterized for being a fusion of advances in
artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, 3D printing and other technologies.
Basically, I do think that it is the collective force that will create a new
world.

Apart from the results that technology has had in each one of the
connected areas, the impact of this era is said to be changing the way
health is understood, transforming the methods of treatment and
diagnosis as well as the relationship between health professionals and
patients. However, in spite of the 4IR has recently been implemented,
it is having a major positive impact on the health sector. Above all, the
effective application of disruptive technologies and health professionals
is essential to make this change possible.

In fact, it is said that the most popular advance in technology is

the artificial intelligence (AI), which is the skill of a computer managed
by another computer to do things that are usually done by humans.
Actually, some of the most used AI systems in United States,
Netherlands, United Kingdom and Singapore are patient-oriented AI,
Clinician-oriented AI, and Administrative and Operational-oriented AI,
all of them has been applied to analyze pictures, support treatments
and discover the cure of neurological diseases, for instance, in
radiology, there is a AI computer that can read and explain you an X-
rays, at the same time, in pathology, also it can give you a detail report
about a microscope picture.

Moreover, it is useful to discover and study drugs. I mean,

companies, such as Verge Genomics, works in the application of
machines that could identify drugs to combat diseases, such as
Parkinson and Alzheimer. AI computers work as a virtual assistant too,
which can be programmed to help doctors manage the daily work and
organize their time. This could include to plan a week calendar and
priority tasks. Besides, it can be functional for patients as a chat bot,
because, it can answer you some questions like Where is the nearest
hospital? or What are the hours of operation in this clinic? Also, ask for
an specific diet or schedule treatment. Finally, this program may work
like a virtual reality device, for instance, for medicine students, it is very
useful, because some university students can study and explore
different environments without putting patients at risk.

On the other hand, there is a technique that creates three-

dimensional objects made of metal, plastic and ceramics, this is de 3D
printing, which can create patient-matched products based on the
patient’s anatomy. For example, cranial implants and dental
restorations. Most importantly, a curious fact is that U.S hospitals are
said to have been grown in 3D technology over the past decade, I
mean, in 2010 just three hospitals in United States had 3D systems, in
2019, more than one hundred hospitals worked with this device; In this
way, the interesting is that in 2016, the FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) approve the creation of a drug for an epilepsy
treatment, it was a pill which was able to disintegrate quickly in water.
Additionally, researches are said to have been working with bio
printers, to create cellular constructs, skin grafts and organs.
Nevertheless, at the moment, it is still in an experimental phase.

Finally, it is important to know some of the most positive results

of the technology in the health sector. Similarly, the first one, and the
most essential is the communication improvement, because
technology has had a good impact in the relationship between doctors
and healthcare organization. For that reason, the second one is big
data, which is the ability of a computer to save data in a short time, for
instance, the cloud storage, which offers you a lot of information about
a specific topic, such as clinical reports, investigations and discovery
thesis. Likewise, technology has provided to the healthcare community
tools to improve patients care and enhance relationships with them.
Likewise, as much as health apps and telemedicine have improved the
health sector, due to it yields the community a way to communicate
with doctors and take care of ourselves in a simple, healthy and correct
form through technology.

To conclude, the adoption of technology in healthcare over the

years has led to better diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Nevertheless, it is important to highlight it will be dangerous if people
don’t have a common sense in it uses; But, in spite of that, out of all
the benefited sectors from technology adoption, healthcare is probably
the most important one. Consequently, it improved the quality of life
over time, and it has saved many lives. The transformative power of
technology could not obviously be missing from the healthcare sector.
Even though it is a sector requiring highly skilled individuals with many
years of studies, it is also a very demanding one in infrastructure,
organization and tools. The rise of life expectancy worldwide and the
aging of populations create a very demanding area for innovation and
technology in healthcare. However, it seems that innovation in the field
is very robust, thus changing the landscape every year.