Mobile Computing and Social Networking - Essay Example

? Mobile Computing and Social Networking Mobile Computing and Social Networking Introduction Technology has revolutionized every walk of life ranging from education to fashion. Not to mention about the health care sector. Wireless medicine has helped patients in cutting down hospital bills and in circumventing the dilemma of waiting for days to meet a doctor. In the not very distant past we witnessed people waiting in long queue to consult their doctor for their routine checkups. Despite their very busy life they find time for meeting doctor however small their problems may be. For every man, his health is the most cherished thing in life. For the same reason, health industry has always been a hot spot for research and development thereby attracting lots of investment and renovation. Monitoring of Patient Vital Signs Technology has revolutionized the health care sector to such an extent that one’s blood pressure, blood sugar levels, oxygen levels or respiratory levels all can be measured using mobile technology. Thus the perils of a patient travelling to a doctor’s office for these physiological states to be tested, manual documentation of the readings by a nurse or a clinician and the occurrence of errors while recording the readings etc can be avoided. Above all the greatest advantage is saving the most valuable resource- time. A scenario resembling a science fiction movie where sensors implanted under ones skin detects ones blood sugar level and alerts the doctor is not very far if technological explosion happens at this pace. Today’s technology has made patient’s care very effective. Smart phones and broad band enabled devices has allowed patients to do their own monitoring of vital signs and body functions and upload them to their medical provider’s clinical servers. Videoconferencing with their doctor via phones is possible. Not only the patients but also the hospitals are benefitted by the technology. Devices like ECG machines, ventilators, oxygen sensors, blood pressure sensors are connected to the hospital server that records and transmits to the doctor or the nurse to ensure the best care possible. As Shahriyar, Bari, Kundu, Ahamed and Akbar (2010) point out, the use of bio sensor based mobile monitoring system collects data from the patients, mines the data, predicts the patient’s health status, and provides feed back through their mobile phones. So they can access their health information anywhere and anytime. This monitoring system is called Intelligent Mobile Health Monitoring System (pp. 5-6). Advantages As Smith (2011) points out, enhanced patient doctor interaction, accessibility of health care to geographically remote patient, greater exchange of information, increased accuracy of patient records, saving time with diagnosis and treatment of illness, freedom of patience from smoldering hospital rooms and cumbersome medical devices are some of the advantages of monitoring vital signs using mobile computing technology. Wireless networking enables the transmission of signals from the monitor of an ambulance to the emergency room so that the staff is alert to treat the patient as soon as they arrive. The use of mobile technology informs the doctor about the early symptoms of his patients before acute attacks occurs. This is a boon to patients who are reserved in nature as they can express their problems without face to face interaction with the doctor. Doctors also can provide more assistance regarding the treatment and medication which otherwise would have been shortened due to lack of time. Doctors are benefitted in a way that they can focus more on priority tasks. These technologies make the health care system personalized and thereby improve its quality. Disadvantages This technological advancement may not be always an easy task for not so technologically savvy people, especially the older generation. The chances of going offline can cause unprecedented delay in communication between the doctor and the patient. There is a high risk of patient data being accessed by others due to security break downs. The technology of wireless medical services is advancing at a faster pace that we are yet to comprehend all the potential consequences whether good or bad (Smith, 2011). So there is confusion about its role in patient safety causing understandable lag in regulatory guidance. The remote sensors linked to smart systems and adjustable therapies aren’t perfect yet. Security Concerns A major concern of people is about the privacy of personal information they upload on the net. So the privacy and security issues should be made picture perfect to make this acceptable to the public. Large volumes of data from smart phones in home sensors and medical records are being communicated via internet through wireless transmissions. This increases the threat of being accessed by hackers. Though storing data through paper based methods were cumbersome, it was less likely to be accessed by anyone other than the patient or the doctor. But in wireless medicine, skimming and eavesdropping are hazards associated with wireless technology. Data access and its storage are major challenges at present regarding mobile computing technology. Social Networking for Group Support It is a general understanding that our worries seem to lessen when we are in the company of people undergoing the same situation. Patients with conditions like diabetes, breast cancer and heart diseases form support groups which include a gathering of people with the same condition, but not the relatives or friends who they meet on a daily basis. Social networking has a crucial part in forming such support groups outside the normal daily relationships. This allows people to get rid of the feeling of loneliness and empowers them to cope up with the situation. As Mayo Clinic staff (n.d.) proposes, Facebook, Twitter, My space, You Tube and various other social networking sites are powerful platforms of interaction between people with the same medical problems; and people are able to share and compare alternative forms of treatment and learn about new medical research. It benefits the user and helps them to accept their illness and think positively, and that will in turn help in the speedy recovery of their illness. Conclusion In total, the tools engaged in wirelessly diagnosing and monitoring diseases has enabled remote management of drugs and medical devices and in a greater understanding of how genetics affects the susceptibility to diseases. Through this technology we learn as well respond. Now, routine checkups are not limited to occasional visits at the doctor’s office but a daily activity in one’s home, office or while travelling. With mobile computing technology, the doctor patient relationship has become smart saving time, energy, and money. This has annihilated the illegibly written medical records, inert hospital environment, and the long wait before a doctor’s office. The full-fledged development of mobile computing technology can revolutionize the healthcare sector and can lead to dramatic social changes like what once the industrial revolution has done to the society. References Mayo clinic staff, (2011), Mayo Clinic.com. retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/support-groups/MH00002 Smith, J. M. (2011). Wireless health care: Wireless technologies are about to transform Health care and not a moment too soon. Spectrum inside technology. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/wireless-health-care Shahriyar, R., Bari, F., Kundu, G., Ahamed, S. I & Akbar, M. “Intelligent mobile health monitoring system (IMHMS)”. In P. Kostkova. (Ed.). (2010). Electronic Healthcare: Second International ICST Conference. Springer. Read More