Mobile Technology in the Perioperative Arena: Rapid Evolution and Future Disruption

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Technology Assessment
• Digital Health

Background:

• Physicians historically adopt disruptive innovations to enhance medical care quality, patient outcomes, and satisfaction.
• Mobile technology is emerging as a significant disruptive innovation within the healthcare sector.
• The evolution of mobile technology over three decades, including hardware, software, and applications (apps), is reviewed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the history and adoption of mobile technology in healthcare.
• To explore the transformation of medical education through technology, shifting to learner-centric models.
• To present methods for connected health systems using mobile devices to improve patient data collection and analysis.

Main Methods:

• Historical review of mobile technology development and healthcare adoption.
• Analysis of technology's role in transforming didactic learning (e.g., flipped classroom, just-in-time learning, social media, Web 2.0/3.0).
• Evaluation of connected health systems utilizing mobile devices for enhanced patient information collection and analysis.

Main Results:

• Mobile technology adoption in healthcare is rapidly expanding.
• Technology facilitates a shift towards learner-centric medical education, including semantic learning.
• Connected health systems improve information collection, leading to reduced hospital readmissions and better care coordination.

Conclusions:

• Mobile technology is integral to the future of healthcare, particularly perioperative medicine.
• Enhanced patient-provider connectivity via mobile devices improves health maintenance and access to care.
• Understanding and evaluating mobile technology is crucial for healthcare professionals, especially anesthesiologists, given the expanding scope of perioperative medicine.