O.D. to O.D

TECHNOLOGY: TODAY AND TOMORROW

HERE’S A LIST OF WHAT’S COMING (I HOPE)

Scot Morris
O.D., F.A.A.O.
Chief Optometric Editor

TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS everything we do these days. It is what wakes us in the morning and probably keeps us up longer than we should be at night. Most of us spend a good part of the day typing on a keyboard, looking at a monitor, evaluating data from some other device and talking or texting one another. Technology is not only here to stay, but it will likely become even more interwoven into the fabric of our daily routines.

Compared with most medical specialties, eye care is likely going to be more impacted by technology. We already use technology to gain most of the data we analyze. This fact may put us on the forefront of change or be our greatest challenge (but more on that next month).

Here is what I see as the tech trends that will soon impact us all.

1 EHR WILL IMPROVE

It has to! Right now they all need a little work and be more integrative and on an open architecture platform. More importantly, they will need to be more intuitive and accessible to both the provider and consumer from anywhere at any time. This will likely mean that more consumers will start requesting their medical records in an electronic format instead of relying on various health care professionals to guard this information.

2 INSURANCE WILL PROVIDE UTILIZATION OF BENEFITS DATA

Consumers and providers alike should have the ability to know what benefits a consumer is eligible for and has utilized. Then everyone would know exactly who pays for what and the actual profitability of things. I always wonder how credit card companies know when I am traveling to a place I don’t usually travel to and shut down my card, but health insurance companies can’t seem to determine actual eligibility for benefits and communicate those benefits in a way everyone can understand.

3 SOCIAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS WILL BE MORE COMMON THAN CREDIT CARDS

Social payment systems like PayPal’s Venpro or Square’s Cash with two-way encryption are likely to be more common than credit cards because they enhance both security and accessibility.

4 WEARABLE TECH: MAINSTREAM

Our society seems to crave augmented reality instead of dealing with the reality of their own lives, so it seems probable that virtual reality devices will gain in popularity. Of course, these devices will only work if consumers can actually see well out of them. Ahh — opportunity! So whether this technology will become available as a visual apparatus is yet to be seen. But we are a visual society, so I am betting on the future being back at “eye level.”

5 DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGY: APPS

There will be an increasing consumer demand and utilization of diagnostic apps for smartphones and similar devices. The days of gathering all data in the office are coming to an end in health care, and our industry will be no different. Soon, there will be apps that are able to do much of the data gathering that we do. Yes, this statement may not be popular, but it is true.

6 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT WILL FLOURISH

They help solve that mess of a contact lenses trial room and the complete disaster that we call optical inventory management. This can’t happen soon enough!

PREPARE TO ADAPT

All these technologies are current day, though they have not yet made their way into eye care. None of this is fantasy. All of these technologies are likely to impact our profession and our business in some way through the next few years. Like all changes, there is no good or bad, only how we adapt to it. Something to think about! OM