I was mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed one morning, as you do, when I stumbled across a Facebook Live recording from a friend who has recently moved from the UK to America. Intrigued as to what might be his latest transatlantic tale, I clicked through.

Was it a video about this entrepreneur’s latest business endeavour? Or perhaps he and his family exploring the wonders of their vast new country to share with friends and family back home?

No, what I found was a video of – let’s call him Bob – staggering around New Orleans at four in the morning, worse for wear from alcohol not being able to find his hotel.

The filming went on for more than forty minutes. A drunk bloke from Britain lost in New Orleans responding, mostly incoherently, to comments from a handful of mates back in the UK who were watching his struggles in real-time. It was completely ridiculous yet oddly compelling. As I said to Bob on the feed, I imagine this was EXACTLY what Mark Zuckerberg had in mind when he launched Facebook Live.

When Bob’s video had finished I went into my emails and I kid you not the first message I opened was from a colleague sharing a link to a film about doctors in the UK using Skype to advise doctors in Aleppo, Syria during life-saving operations. You’d be hard pushed to find a more polar opposite use of live steaming. I’d gone from the ridiculous to the miraculous in 30 seconds.

The doctors were using technology that’s more commonly associated with connecting family and friends in different countries to literally save lives in a war zone. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

It reminded me of when my history teacher told us one of the key things which set humans apart was that we developed tools, tools that enabled us to solve problems beyond our physical means.

The use of Skype by doctors in Syria is an extreme and admirable example of how modern technology can help in the delivery of healthcare but there are more everyday ways in which you and I can also harness these benefits to better manage our own health.

For example, wearing a device that monitors activity levels can help us become more aware of our health and wellbeing, putting us on the right track to prevent a wide range of illnesses. The convenience and discretion of consulting with a doctor online can make the difference between addressing an issue or not, and being able to have your medication dispensed by an online pharmacy can give you back valuable time. Indeed, some GPs and online doctors also offer Skype appointments so you don’t have to leave your home, office…even if you’re a farmer and your office is a field!

While all of these tools and services are growing in popularity, overall it’s still only the savvy few who are benefiting. The full potential of digital tools in healthcare is yet to be realised.

However, the latest plans from the Department of Health may help to provide the step change needed to integrate and normalise digital healthcare in our everyday once and for all.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, recently announced a number of pledges that will give the public better access to healthcare online. He has also said the health service must ‘embrace the age of the smartphone’.

By the end of next year, the beleaguered 111 service will be updated to allow patients to text their symptoms on their smartphone, and receive instant advice or a callback from clinical advisers.

There are plans for a central NHS website which will allow every person in the country to register with a GP, make appointments, order prescriptions and download their own medical record. The site will also provide information on the performance of local health services, with ratings for services for diabetes, dementia and learning disabilities.

The King’s Fund has, quite rightly, called for greater clarity on the NHS’s plans but they do support the principle of greater use of digital technology in healthcare.

Matthew Honeyman, policy researcher at The King’s Fund, said: ‘Digital technology has the potential to transform the way patients engage with services and support them in managing their health and wellbeing.’

So, with the private sector already offering a wide range of digital healthcare tools and the NHS set to up its game it’ll be down to patients to provide the last piece of the potential jigsaw. Changing mindset and behaviours can sometimes be difficult which is why we must all play our part in raising awareness of the benefits and in sharing the digital forerunners’ stories – those who are healthier, happier and living their lives, not sat in a waiting room.

We are becoming more and more comfortable using modern technology to manage our banking, shopping and even our love life, isn’t it about time we embraced the benefits of digital in our healthcare too? It seems a bit of a waste to leave it with drunk Bob, lost in New Orleans…