The Role of the Internet in Health During and After COVID-19

COVID-19 has deeply changed the way we complete routine activities. Some things that were impossible to do remotely are now a reality: virtual education for public schools, virtual concerts and online equivalents of in-person events. Online education and concerts were previously unattractive options before the pandemic hit, and over the last year have become much more common and expected options.

As we know, health system were deeply affected by this pandemic in different ways. Since virtuality has increased in different aspects of our lives, we now see just how successful virtual doctor’s appointments are and how results from a medical test can be delivered and reviewed with medical professionals via email or phone. Virtual solutions that impact health are here to stay, and we are going to cover what the possible advantages and disadvantages of these solutions are.

Advantages 

The application of healthcare technologies to the general public, such as Big Data solutions, facilitates the prevention and early detection of diseases. It also supports professionals in the diagnosis of the disease,  and can be a tool to identify new indicators in the evolution of the health of the population. And that’s just the start!

Disadvantages

Exercise, reading, nurturing family relationships, resting, and a variety of other non-digital activities all demand time and must be valued. The balance is crucial and required, and while being able to use virtual solutions in life is certainly progress made, living a "virtual life" would be the worst outcome of this pandemic. People are not machines, and we need physical contact with loved ones to have fulfilling, engaging lives.

Conclusion

As we move beyond the emergency phase of the pandemic there is a need to reflect on the temporary solutions that have been implemented in order to improve and develop them further. Particularly important is recognizing that adopting new innovations effectively requires more than simply putting them in place and letting them run wild. In many cases, the necessity to switch to a more virtual setting during the pandemic might have been enough to test basic versions of new approaches, but not many individuals have had extensive opportunities for testing, iterating and refining these approaches to determine what balance works best for a healthy society.