Technology in healthcare - Essay Example

Thus, some health care establishments refuse to implement new technology. However, organizations still do their best to use new technological abilities. Now healthcare system is characterized by active technology introduction. The role of electronic gadgets and telemedicine is crucial. “Technology has changed healthcare: by providing new machines, medicines, and treatments that save lives and improve the chance of recovery for billions” (Krueger, 2010). We can’t but mention the role of the internet is very important as it makes it possible for patients to reach the specialist they need even if he/she lives in another country.

Patients can be monitored by health care specialist of their healthcare establishment, when they stay at home. Technology helps physicians make necessary calculations of the doses of prescribed medicines. This helps avoid many mistakes, which can cost patient’s health (Rosenfeld et al, 2004). Medical history storage became more suitable as computers help turn to the medical history of any patient fast and the data is not lost. “These electronic databases are also consolidating large amounts of information that are used for medical research.

With vast patient history, scientists can better study trends and causes of ailments. This means more breakthroughs to come” (Krueger, 2010). It is obvious that technology is providing medical care with necessary advancement from electronic storage to special gadgets that allows patients conduct healthy way of life. Implementation of new technology demands high costs but after its establishment it helps reduce the expenses (Kern and Jaron, 2003). Those people who are able to contact their nurses through electronic systems do not need to spend money on trip.

Nurses in their turn do receive the opportunity to communicate with other healthcare specialists and are able to use electronic devices to examine patient and his/her information that makes it possible to select effective medical treatment for a person. Given that technology keeps widening the horizons, it is obvious that healthcare field is developing. However, some experts find negative moments in the technological opportunities that recently became available in the field of healthcare. Andrew Rubin states: "Imagine a world where everything important about a patient is known to the physician the first time that patient presents” (cited in Mann).

Really, when a person applies to a doctor, he/she usually chooses a specialist carefully and often prefers to apply to definite person. Thus he/she prefers to save his/her information confidential, so that other people except the doctor do not have any access to it. Information technologies to some extend violate this rule and allow many specialists access the information of the client. Moreover, patients would like to have access to the information : “consumers say they value having access to portals and websites that provide direct access to personal information about their health plan, medical history, and treatment plans, as well as offer capabilities such as appointment scheduling and prescription refill ordering” (The Role of Technology in Health Care Consumer Engagement).

This problem reminds us that not everything can be replaced by electronics, and there are some issues that should not alter with the development of