Advancing pharmacy and healthcare with virtual digital technologies.
Journal:
Advanced drug delivery reviews
PMID:
34998901
Abstract
Digitalisation of the healthcare sector promises to revolutionise patient healthcare globally. From the different technologies, virtual tools including artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual, and augmented reality, to name but a few, are providing significant benefits to patients and the pharmaceutical sector alike, ranging from improving access to clinicians and medicines, as well as improving real-time diagnoses and treatments. Indeed, it is envisioned that such technologies will communicate together in real-time, as well as with their physical counterparts, to create a large-scale, cyber healthcare system. Despite the significant benefits that virtual-based digital health technologies can bring to patient care, a number of challenges still remain, ranging from data security to acceptance within the healthcare sector. This review provides a timely account of the benefits and challenges of virtual health interventions, as well an outlook on how such technologies can be transitioned from research-focused towards real-world healthcare and pharmaceutical applications to transform treatment pathways for patients worldwide.
Authors
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence
Biomedical Technology
Clinical Trials as Topic
Digital Technology
Drug Development
Drug Discovery
Drug Industry
Health Care Sector
Health Information Exchange
Humans
Machine Learning
Mobile Applications
Remote Sensing Technology
Research Design
Time Factors
United States
United States Food and Drug Administration
Virtual Reality