Healthcare Technology - Essay Example

?Healthcare Technology Table of Contents 0. Introduction 3 2.0. Brief Overview of WH and its Technological Approaches 4 3.0. Technologies Used in the WH 4 3.1. GP Liaison Service 5 3.1.1. Concepts and Principles of GP Liaison Service in WH 5 3.1.2. Advantages and Complexities in the GP Liaison Service 6 3.2. Telehealth Services by WH 7 3.2.1. Concepts and Principles 7 3.2.2. Advantages and Challenges 8 3.3. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans (MRI) 9 3.3.1. Concepts and Principles 9 3.3.2. Advantages and Complexities 10 4.0. Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 15 1.0. Introduction In relation to the presently identifiable contemporary alterations in the global healthcare industry, the integration of various technological aspects has been recognised to ensure a large contribution towards increasing the organisational efficiency of providing more effective healthcare services (Berg, 2004; Braun, n.d.). The rapid development of the technological aspects and continuous deployment of contemporary technological tools has further been recognised to play an imperative role for the modern healthcare institutions in order to increase their value performance along with the successful accomplishment of its financial and management goals as well (World Health Organisation, 2012). Witnessing a rapid pace of development and alongside, aided with the capability of greater interventions from technological attributes, the healthcare performance of The Wellington Hospital (WH) can be considered as a noteworthy case for studying the influences led by continuous technology innovations in the global healthcare industry. Correspondingly, the report aims to critically discuss about the revolutionary development in the healthcare technology and how the intervention of technology improves the practice of the organisations. In precise, the discussion of the report would highly be focused on the healthcare services provided by WH and its corresponding technological integrations, especially while using technological attributes during the patients’ check-in process. Moreover, the report also tends to incorporate the process of technological functions and analyse their significance and drawbacks thereafter, with respect to the healthcare services being delivered by WH. 2.0. Brief Overview of WH and its Technological Approaches With regard to the unconventional healthcare services, WH can be considered as one of the major and largest healthcare service providers across the UK and other geographical regions. Since the last four decades, the organisation has been recognised to play a dominant role in serving the UK and overseas clients through its unconventional strategies with expertise in neurosurgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology along with cardiac and neurological rehabilitation care facilities ([1]The Wellington Hospital, 2013). The intervention of computer system has also been widely observed to provide adequate support for WH to enhance its clinical services and ensure satisfaction from the clients. More significantly, the selection, implementation as well as adequate support of the healthcare informatics have been recently observed to play an essential role for the organization to intensify its success potentials. In relation to the present day context, a range of technological attributes are likely to be selected in the WH settings in order to increase the efficiency and the accountability of its varied group of healthcare facilities. In order to inculcate this notion and mitigate the identified challenges in technology integration, the healthcare settings of WH have further been designed to provide adequate access to the patients in procuring quality based healthcare services ([1] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). 3.0. Technologies Used in the WH A successfully integrated technology framework is one of the major resources required in the management of contemporary healthcare organisations to build and maintain strong sustainability in the competitive market. It is in this context that recent studies have inferred that the intervention of advanced technological aspects plays a major role towards ensuring the organisations to provide appropriate healthcare services in accordance with the patients’ expectations (Narain & Ofrin, 2012). In relation to the healthcare settings of WH, it can therefore be observed that the organisation seeks to maintain continuous development in its service delivery process by using various technology mechanisms. Accordingly, three of the major technological aspects that play a major role for WH in assuring its sustainability through the deliverance of quality assured services, have been critically assessed henceforth. 3.1. GP Liaison Service The GP Liaison service, as integrated in the service delivery process of WH, is one of the prominent and highly effective technology aids to have enabled the company to ease the process of accessibility to the global clients. The GP Liaison service of the organisation is highly dedicated to build an integrated approach of delivering adequate accessibility to the clients while checking-in to the healthcare setting. In precise, the service tends to deliver easy and quick access into the required medical and outpatient services ([2] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). 3.1.1. Concepts and Principles of GP Liaison Service in WH With the aim to increase the efficiency of the integrated GP services, it is of utmost important for the healthcare institutions to establish and maintain effective principles in line with delivering healthcare services as per the patient’s requirements. Contextually, the formulation of a well-build process, inculcating defined tool principles, quality principles and organisational principles, can be widely accepted to build an integrated healthcare framework within the organisation (The Wellington Hospital, 2010). Process or Tool Principles: In the context of process or tool principles, the GP liaison service of WH incorporates the process of managing client database including, contact details, GP discharge sheets and records and other relevant information in a more accurate and regularly updated manner (General Practice Advisory Council, n.d.). Quality Principles: In the similar perspective, the principles associated with quality services include the process of maintaining adequate relevance regarding the communication contents accompanying follow-up plans required for GP services, necessary reviews along with information about the hospital care facilities. Moreover, the communication contents also involve comprehensiveness, clarity and precision, which significantly increase the value of the GP services performed by the organisation (General Practice Advisory Council, n.d.). Organisational Principles: In addition, the principles concerning organisational context of the WH involves numerous guidelines with the efficiency of the GP services. In this regard, the organisational principles concerning the GP services in WH incorporate the management of organisational culture, behavioural aspects of each member, flawless communication protocol, continuous training and development and maintaining uninterrupted performance indicator records of the staff members (King, 2001). 3.1.2. Advantages and Complexities in the GP Liaison Service The data management process within the GP Liaison service applied in WH tends to maintain adequate control on the timeliness of assigning the clients in accordance with their required speciality needs and rehabilitation programs. The services incorporates two staff members along with a range of key elements that are all-inclusively designed to assist medical practitioners along with self-referring private clients to efficiently and quickly access medical benefits as per requirement. Moreover, the management of outpatient facilities is also an essential activity performed by WH through the GP Liaison service. Additionally, the incorporation of advanced technological assistance in the GP services also tends to provide updated information regarding the availability of healthcare services to the global clients ([2] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). However, a generalised conception regarding the integration of technology advances in the GP services also conveys certain complexities associated with controlling and managing functionalities of the services. In this regard, the requirement of technological attributes, appropriate usability and understanding sensory stimulus can be considered to create significant complexities while performing technology-based GP services in WH (The Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2011). 3.2. Telehealth Services by WH 3.2.1. Concepts and Principles Telehealth can be defined as an effective and contemporary online healthcare technology that is broadly executed in order to distribute healthcare services, related information and other facilities within the global context. Telehealth service of the modern healthcare organization, such as WH, can be characterized into two major applications such as, real-time communication as well as store-and-forward application in terms of providing effective and efficient healthcare services to a varied range of customer groups across the different regions (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, n.d.). 3.2.2. Advantages and Challenges With regard to technological advancements in the modern healthcare services, the telehealth services delivered by the WH tends to provide adequate support to each global client and enables the organisation to mitigate health related issues through an advanced technological process. It is worth mentioning in this context that WH, through the technology integrated telehealth service, tends to enhance patient’s accessibility of medical services with help the healthcare settings to design effective mechanisms of delivering appropriate online medical services. Accordingly, the technological aspects identifiable in the telehealth service framework integrated in the operational procedure of WH can be observed to facilitate real-time communication benefits. This is further identified as one of the major and effective applications of telehealth service that involves consulting with superior medical specialists through live audio and video conferences with the patient irrespective of their geographic differences ([1] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). Moreover, the real-time communication of telehealth service is also capable of engaging patients and physicians on a 1:1 basis, ensuring the benefits of the traditional healthcare service deliverance procedure but in a more convenient manner. Technology integration in this regard also assists in the error-free examination of the disease, with a medical expert from different places through teleconference via phone or internet facilities. Additionally, the telehealth service of the organisation also tends to offer certain other advantages to WH in dealing with issues associated with costs, time and inconvenience (Coulter & Magee, 2003). However, the concept of providing telehealth service can also be considered to bring major complexities and issues for the healthcare organisations similar to WH. With regard to the major complexities, a lack of sensory stimuli and issues associated with appropriate usability can be identified to create major problems for the organisations to deliver appropriate diagnosis and treatment facilities to the clients (Nemeth, 2008). 3.3. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans (MRI) 3.3.1. Concepts and Principles The concept of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans (MRI) can be termed as an unconventional and more effective diagnostic tool for the modern healthcare institutions to identify and formulate appropriate treatment processes for the clients. The process is fully integrated with technological aspects that enable the medical practitioners (radiologists) to identify physical conditions affecting bones, tissues and organs of the patients (National Health Service, 2013). In relation to the pace of technological development and integration, the integration and practice of MRI scan in WH encompasses precise principles associated with its usage, guiding regulations and relevancies concerning the improvement of patients’ health. In this regard, the compliance of appropriate use, potential effects after the scanning and standards for radiation protection associated with the MRI process are noteworthy aspects to ensure the effective deliverance of services by WH with the integration of this technology process (Fogel, 2010; The Royal College of Radiologists, 2006). Moreover, the use of updated MRI can also be considered as an exceptional and advanced patient examination tool, which enables significant benefits for the clients and the medical practitioners bridging the expected gap between organisational boundaries and patient’s expectations. The MRI system used in the WH further tends to use strong magnetic radio waves rather than using radiation in order to obtain cross-sectional images that further ensures minimum negative-effects on the patient ([3] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). 3.3.2. Advantages and Complexities In order to enhance the medication process and safety of the clients, the MRI process of WH is applied through a safety questionnaire regarding the past medical experiences of the patients along with relevant medical principles of the organisation. More significantly, performing the scanning process through MRI can be regarded as an efficient technological aspect, which does not involve minimum level of after-effects. In the context of the benefits for the medical practitioners, the MRI process ensures to provide a detailed information and helps to determine the best diagnosis and treatment process for the clients ([3]The Wellington Hospital, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated that the continuous integration as well as compliance with the advanced technological aspects tend to increase the efficiency of the medical services. In relation to the present technological development of the healthcare services delivered by WH, the integration of GP Liaison system, Telehealth facilities as well as MRI process can be recognised to play an essential role altogether enabling the organisation to provide appropriate diagnosis and treatment facilities to improve the critical health condition of the clients. However, a critical view to the integration of the MRI imaging process can involve certain complexities due to the issues associated with implementing radiation as well as magnetic radio wave functions. In this context, the technological integration of the organisation should be highly focused on addressing potential issues associated with MRI imaging and developing adequate measures to enhance the value of the services ([3] The Wellington Hospital, 2013). 4.0. Conclusion In relation to the present scenario observed in the global healthcare industry, the integration of technological attributes has been identified to acquire a major attention by the healthcare practitioners. As identified in the above discussion, with regard to the valued contribution of technology, the GP Liaison services, telehealth facilities along with MRI imaging services altogether have been recognised to play an essential role for WH to enhance its varied range of medical services for the global clients. The technological attributes existing in these medical services sector ensures the deliverance of adequate benefits to the patients in terms of diagnosing and developing effective care facilities. It also ensures to convey or develop expertise treatment and diagnostic process to consult regarding any critical disease case. Conclusively, it can also be ascertained in this context that the patients of WH can avail various types of healthcare services with the help of technology based healthcare systems integrated in the operational system of the organisation. References Berg, M., 2004. Health Information Management: Integrating Information Technology in Healthcare Work. Routledge. Braun, A., No Date. Healthcare: Key Technologies for Europe. Innovation in Healthcare Technologies. [Online] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/kte-healthcare_en.pdf [Accessed November 08, 2013]. Coulter, A. & Magee, H., 2003. The European Patient of the Future. McGraw-Hill International. Fogel, M. A., 2010. Principles and Practice of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Congenital Heart Disease: form, Function and Flow. John Wiley & Sons. General Practice Advisory Council, No Date. Principles of Quality GP/Hospital Communication. Background. [Online] Available at: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/hssb/hou/integration/GPAC_GP.pdf [Accessed November 08, 2013]. King, H. A., 2001. Offer Access to Comprehensive Services to Improve, Maintain and Restore People’s Health. The Primary Healthcare Strategy, pp. 1-29. Narain, J. P. & Ofrin, R., 2012. Role of Modern Technology in Public Health: Opportunities and Challenges. WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 125-127. National Health Service, 2013. MRI Scan. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mri-scan/pages/introduction.aspx [Accessed November 08, 2013]. Nemeth, C. P. (2008). Improving Healthcare Team Communication: Building On Lessons from Aviation and Aerospace. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. The Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2011. Care in local communities: A New Vision and Model for District Nursing. Department of Health, pp. 8-24. The Royal College of Radiologists, 2006. 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