The reach of technological innovation continues to grow, changing all industries as it evolves. In healthcare, technology is increasingly playing a role in almost all processes, from patient registration to data monitoring, from lab tests to self-care tools.

Devices like smartphones and tablets are starting to replace conventional monitoring and recording systems, and people are now given the option of undergoing a full consultation in the privacy of their own homes. Technological advancements in healthcare have contributed to services being taken out of the confines of hospital walls and integrating them with user-friendly, accessible devices.

The following are ten technological advancements in healthcare that have emerged over the last ten years.

 1. The electronic health record. In 2009, only 16 percent of U.S. hospitals were using an EHR. By 2013, about 80 percent of hospitals eligible for CMS’ meaningful use incentives program had incorporated an EHR into their organizations. “For such a long time we had such disparate systems, meaning you had one system that did pharmacy, one did orders, one that did documentation,” says Jeff Sturman, partner at Franklin, Tenn.-based Cumberland Consulting Group. “Integrating these systems into a single platform, or at least a more structured platform, has allowed more integrated and efficient care for patients,” he says.

While the EHR has already created big strides in the centralization and efficiency of patient information, it can also be used as a data and population health tool for the future. “There’s going to be a big cultural shift over the next several years of data-driven medicine,” says Waco Hoover, CEO of the Institute for Health Technology Transformation in New York. “Historically, that hasn’t been a big part of how medicine is practiced. Physicians go to medical school and residencies, but each organization has its own unique ways they do things. That’s one of the reasons we see varied care all over the country. When data is what we’re making decisions off of, that’s going to change and improve outcomes of the consistency of medicine delivered.”

2. mHealth. Mobile health is freeing healthcare devices of wires and cords and enabling physicians and patients alike to check on healthcare processes on-the-go. An R&R Market Research report estimates the global mHealth market will reach $20.7 billion by 2019, indicating it is only becoming bigger and more prevalent. Smartphones and tablets allow healthcare providers to more freely access and send information. Physicians and service providers can use mHealth tools for orders, documentation and simply to reach more information when with patients, Mr. Sturman says.

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This article originally appeared on Becker’s Healthcare.