Uber – the largest taxi company owns no vehicles
Airbnb – the largest accommodation provider owns no real estate
Facebook – the most popular media provider creates no content
Instagram – the most popular photo company sells no cameras
Netflix – the fastest growing television network lays no cable
Alibaba – the world’s most valuable retailer has no inventory
None of these companies existed 20 years ago, yet they are leaders in their industries today. Have you thought about how your OT practice will function in 20 years? Technology has profoundly changed our world and will change how we deliver healthcare to patients. What products and technologies will make you a better occupational therapist?
Enjoy!
Cheryl Hall, OT, Author and Illustrator, Occupational Therapy Toolkit
Virtual Reality Brings Dramatic Change to Mental Health Care
The USC Institute for Creative Technologies has created a system, “Bravemind” to treat soldiers diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The virtual reality system desensitizing the individual’s response to the event by recreating the incident allowing the individual to relive the incident. Combined with talk therapy, the treatment has enjoyed measurable results, and it is believed that the technology could be used with victims of other types of violent incidents.
Demonstration and Training Site Goes Global
St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, built a learning center to promote occupational therapy and to train OTs. Inside and out, the home is filled with high-tech and low-tech demonstrations of how occupational therapy assists patients. To broaden the impact and turn this training center into a global resource, the university has posted a virtual tour of all the features so that information is available to OTs, patients and caregivers throughout the world.
Smartphones Can Help Track the Progression of Multiple Sclerosis
The use of smartphones and watches to monitor patient health and the progression of certain conditions is exploding. One application helps clinicians track a MS patient’s progress in real time with a series of tests and assessments. Similar technologies are being applied to Parkinson’s.
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things, at its most basic level, describes the connection of everyday items to the internet and to each other. Technology like smart homes, self-driving cars, wearables, digital medication and healthcare teleconferencing will allow disabled and elderly greater independence and quality of life. The Internet of Things will transform how people manage their lives and health.
Data Analytics Improves Falls Prediction
Big data and data analytics can comb data collected by the devices we already use and records we already keep to improve health care. The analysis reveals patterns and makes predictions that had gone unnoticed. One nursing home has significantly improved their ability to identify those patients at a higher risk for falls – the only change – the way they analyzed existing data.
What are your ideas to use virtual reality, big data, tracking devices, robotics, or the Internet of Things to advance Occupational Therapy? The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy has released a Call For Papers — Technology in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science: Evidence, Education, and Impact. Even if you don’t have a paper to submit, make a point of reading the results of this effort.
