Self-care versus state health care, a move towards co-ordinating our care?
With the impact of Covid-19, health services everywhere have encouraged us to do as much as we can to self-manage our health because we have been unable to access care through hospitals, surgeries, or other forms of state health support. We look at what needs to change for us to be able to make this transition and look after our own health?
A move towards self-care With advancements in health technology, it is looking highly likely that we will be more able to make intelligent health decisions using our biometric data.
The use of Fitbit, wearables and other fitness devices has been growing rapidly and even by the end of 2019 Fitbit counted 29 million active users on its platform. We now have devices to measure and track our health, providing data that is becoming more and more sophisticated. Body fat, oxygen in the blood, mental wellbeing, resting heart rate, allergies, food intolerances can all be tracked and measured helping us to set personal health goals and measure our fitness without relying solely on formal, irregular check-ups with a doctor.
Choose your health journey All of these developments should mean greater freedom for all of us to choose. We can make decisions on the type of medical and holistic health support we want and co-ordinate professionals and medical specialists to assist us on our health journey rather than being directed down one “standard” health pathway.
Quick recovery and preventative care Becoming our own personal health manager will have its own challenges (with many of us perhaps needing to re-visit our human biology textbooks); but with the help of technology, A.I. and Telehealth support we are already seeing significant benefits to co-ordinating our care and managing our health journey. Speedy access to advice, treatments, and symptoms assessments can help us recover and prevent health issues worsening; ensuring we get the support we need quicker than we would have had with traditional face to face resources.
Too much information? Understanding our health data may influence all aspects of our lifestyle and we may start using specific health data to make informed decisions about how (and where) we work and how we want to play and relax! All of this is great news, but with the amount of information and data becoming more readily available, some people fear that we will all face a different challenge of information overload. Fitbit holidays and data down time may be needed, planned periods to stop tracking, knowing we can return to our health and fitness goals quickly, when we choose to re-engage and switch back on.
Making a start
We are already seeing many advantages to us learning to look after ourselves and the last year of a pandemic has proved that having resources for co-ordinated self-care are vital for the future but many of us don’t know where to start. We suggest keeping it simple and having one place to store tracking data alongside your health record, is a good place to begin. Using an app to track, share data and manage your professional health network will simplify and centralise your information with added wellbeing devices, wearables and specialist apps to support your personalised health and nutrition goals as and when you feel ready.
At Medelinked, we have connected and listened to HR managers to understand what is needed to support a healthy workplace in 2021 and we are still listening. Medelinked supports safe working practices, giving organisations the technology to promote health and wellbeing, connecting the individual to their health needs and goal setting, providing the ability to connect and stay connected with your people and their health whatever the size and scope of your business.
DISCLAIMER: The materials in this guidance are provided for general information purposes and do not constitute legal or other professional advice. While the information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances may impact the accuracy and validity of the information. Medelinked is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for any action or decision taken as a result of using the guidance. You should consult a professional adviser for legal or other advice where appropriate.