COVID-19 Emphasized Prevention

COVID-19 Emphasized Prevention - Here Is How

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, throwing everything in its wake in turmoil - from everyday people, through businesses, to governments. The worst of it all - the delayed post-factum responses from most countries ensured that the measures, whether half-hearted or not, would not yield the needed results. There were some exceptions, however, such as New Zealand, Iceland, and Denmark, that managed to come out on top and lead the way for pandemic response in the future.

So, what did we learn from the pandemic so far? Let’s draw some conclusions.

Awakening health awareness

Despite the pain and the efforts in these tough times, there is a silver lining to it all. It seems that our comfortable lives were in for a shakeup - giving a reality check for our health awareness. Starting with the mask mandates and disinfection rules, we became more aware of how contaminated our environment can be.

At the same time, we sought new (and old) ways to improve our chances against the deadly disease by being mindful of our diet and vitamin intake. In other words - we set ourselves on the path of preventive medicine, and our efforts will have long-lasting effects into the future.

But what makes prevention so vital? The success of preventive medicine lies in stopping small issues from turning into massive problems. What if we wear masks during flu seasons? What if we get diagnosed at home and visit doctors regularly for checkups, not when we are ill? Would our health remain the same?

Certainly not. And thankfully, the number of examples of companies looking for solutions in the very same area continues to grow exponentially.

Innovative prevention-focused examples

Telemedicine, for example, used to be a utopic far-away solution. However, during the pandemic telemedicine has turned at-home-diagnostics into reality. Apps like MDLIVE or Doctor on Demand have certainly made lives easier for patients who have found difficulty receiving the medical attention they need during the various degrees of lockdowns throughout the year.

And on the other hand, some sought to motivate their users towards better health instead of catering to the classic ailment-prescription paradigm that has been the dominant go-to option for most in the last few decades. Nowadays, everybody is familiar with activity health trackers, such as FitBit and Samsung Health. But there have been new niche entrants that are making steady waves just as well. Some examples of these are the Healthy Diet and Cardiogram.

Then there are those that try to combine the best of both approaches in relatively novel markets. While most apps tend to take a broader look at one’s general health and wellbeing, dental health is often overlooked. That is why it is unsurprising to see the emergence of new solutions catering to this particular sector, such as Dentacoin’s Dentacare - Health Training app. What is particularly unique about the app is that it combines gamification of habit building with monetary rewards, as well as offering teledentistry features. And it all comes together in one central interface. Getting paid to brush your teeth? Now that’s a first!

Keeping all of these examples in mind, it is clear that there is a cup for every taste when it comes to taking better care of one’s health, especially in pocket-sized terms. But the question of whether or not this will be enough to save us from the next pandemic remains. Still, it is better to try and fail than not try at all. After all, every step we take for the improvement of our health is a step in the right direction.

Author: Petar Stoykov

Community & Social Media Manager at the health-tech organization Dentacoin Foundation from the Netherlands. Key areas of expertise: Inbound & Outbound Marketing, Business Psychology, and Change Management. Interested in practical applications of Blockchain and IoT.