The Impact Of New Technology On Healthcare - Report Example

The Impact of New Technology on Health Care Term Paper In the modern worldtechnologies penetrate all the areas of life. The impact of new technology on health care discusses the perspectives of using modern technologies in the healthcare industry. Some of the topics covered are the history of the healthcare, some of the major changes that happened to the healthcare industry since the cave man until the 21st century and different facts from the development of technologies and its uses will be provided. Organizational changes, patient care and service delivery changes and other couple changes will be mentioned. The Internet played a big role in changing the industry and its services, it became a main source to the industry. The recent technologies (new social media awareness, new treatments, modern systems, etc.) that affected the healthcare industry and the disruptive technologies that face the industry are discussed. Special attention is paid to the advantages and possible negative consequences of using technologies for ecology (interactions among organisms and their environment) and human organisms and also the use of information technologies in the healthcare area. The description of concrete use of technologies in the sphere of medicine for diagnostic and treatment is provided. The conclusion can be made that the use of technologies influences the quality of services in the field of healthcare. Introduction Understanding of the past and present status of health care is fundamental for the appreciation of the primary features of the system. For instance, the historical groundwork of the system gives explanation of the reason health care delivery in the U.S. has been tough for national health insurance. Historically accepted American social values and cultural ideals, political speculation, economic limitations, social changes, and technological developments are the major historical forces that have changed the healthcare system. Due to these forces, healthcare in the U.S. is largely a private enterprise, but it also obtains a quite sizeable amount of government funding (Spekowius & Wendler, 2006). This paper discusses the impact of new technology on healthcare. Nevertheless, government subsidy is allocated largely to the healthcare services for the disabled, the elderly, and the poor. Employed middle-class citizens should rely on private health insurance. Those who are not able to pay for premiums and not entitled to government insurance services continue to live without any form of health insurance (Bulgiba, 2004). Important changes motivated by political, economic, technological, cultural, and social factors will be a powerful contributing factor to the future of healthcare system in the U.S. These factors work together in an intricate way. Methodology The sources used for this paper are secondary references. Purely library research was carried out. However, the researcher made sure that the references used are updated, relevant, and appropriate to the topic. The body of the paper is divided into seven parts: (1) history of health care; (2) effect of technology on organizational structure, patient care, service delivery; (3) recent technologies; (4) disruptive technology; (5) advantages and disadvantages of technologies; (6) use of information technologies in healthcare; and (7) concrete use of technologies in diagnostic and treatment. History of Health Care The values and beliefs held by most Americans, though, have been mainly responsible for protecting the healthcare institution from a large-scale reform. For instance, majority of experts concur that the American society’s unyielding trust in capitalism, which encourages autonomy or individualism and opposes reliance on public welfare, is one of the reasons previous recommendations to nationalize health care had been unsuccessful (Siminerio, 2010). In contrast, economic, political, and social factors have resulted in particular concessions, as shown in the design of Medicaid and Medicare and other public services to increase the number of those with health insurance (Spekowius & Wendler, 2006). In addition, American capitalism has encouraged innovation and entrepreneurship to facilitate scientific and technological developments. Thus, healthcare system in the U.S. is very focused or specialized, while routine and basic care received minor attention. Interest in and focus on the most advanced treatments and the regularity of their application has resulted in continuously growing healthcare costs that some believe is hard to sustain (Kabene, 2010). During the early 19th century, trust in medicine was very low. Doctors were evaluated on their several achievements. Majority of diseases and disorders either disappeared eventually or became deadly. Nevertheless, it was also in this period that several of the most important developments in healthcare and technology originally started to modify the basic medical services and practices in the United States. The invention of the microscope and the stethoscope, the methods of antiseptic, anesthesia, and immunization all emerged in this period (Bulgiba, 2004). Over time, new medical advances and methods have transformed the healthcare system. From treating chronic diseases and delivering infants to handling cardiac arrests, physicians have created technology and enhanced methods. The dilemma current doctors confront is a defective healthcare system and strict insurance firms. They have been successful in handling these problems to offer quality patient care and effective new methods. While biomedical research advances, physicians will be more capable of dealing with health disorders in an economically (Millery & Kukafka, 2010). The three major developments that are transforming the healthcare system are clinical practice, population science, and electronic medical records. Effect of technology on Organizational Structure, Patient care, Service Delivery A particular aspect of technological progress and medical expertise is that these two are all together collaborative and comparable, which further pushes technological expertise and developments. Medical expertise results in technological advances; the technological advances then results in manufacturing. Afterward, through the use of technologies, technological progress is achieved and usually with unusual speed (The Lancet, 2012). All of such leads to more and more advanced medical expertise and their related task. Consequently, this spreading out of services and specializations in the healthcare system needs more physical facilities, formation of complex relations among different hospitals, and the redistribution of employees and the recruitment of new workers (Sears & Jacko, 2002). Obviously, those changes have had major effect on healthcare organizational structure, because the speed of technological diffusion is also quickly increasing. Such spread of technological development is heightened by the greater involvement of industry in healthcare technologies and its assumed need for widening the market. Hence, the effect of technology on hospital organization and task is similar to that experienced by workers in bigger institutions, varying only in extent and frequency. Most people think that technology will enhance the effectiveness, safety, and quality of health care. Yet, only a small number of people believe that these technologies could also bring about harmful consequences or disadvantages. Although technology is very promising, the advantages of a particular technology could not be achieved because of four major problems (Sears & Jacko, 2002, 993): (1) Poor technology design that does not adhere to human factors and ergonomic principles; (2) poor technology interface with the patient or environment; (3) inadequate plan for implementing a new technology into practice, and (4) inadequate maintenance plan. Technologies for patient care have become more and more complicated, changing how nursing care is viewed and provided. Over the years, the unassisted senses of nurses were displaced by technologies intended to monitor patients’ conditions. Patient care technologies relevant to nursing include simple tools, like syringes and catheters, and complex ones, like electronic health records (Kabene, 2010). Medicine in the U.S. did not arise as a professional field until the early 20th century, with developments in biomedical research and science. From then on, the American healthcare delivery system has been continuously growing. The development of medical science and technology has contributed to the change in American healthcare delivery system. Recent Technologies Internet technologies are without a doubt affecting healthcare institutions, giving consumers and patients almost unlimited access to professional services and vital information as well as providing medical staff new means to manage clinical procedures and patient records. As stated by Richardson (2003), “The emergence of IT as a way of adding value has been against a background of inexorably rising costs, increased demand for healthcare services, (driven partly by aging populations), and increased patient awareness of healthcare possibilities, ironically, to a large extent, due to health-related websites, some of which are of dubious quality” (151). Advocates of healthcare technologies argue that the Internet has the ability to enhance patient care, and offer quality and efficiency, convenience, easy access, and cost-effective measures. According to Wilson and Lankton (2004), “E-health is promoted as a mechanism to bring growth, cost savings, and process improvement to health care” (241); these advantages both assumed and real, are the motivators in the use of Internet technologies. Wilson and Lankton (2004), referring to a study in 2001, reported that “of 440 health care organizations [in the U.S., the survey] found that more than 80% now deliver some form of e-health to their patients, and more than 50% implement advanced e-health applications, including online formularies, prescription refills, test results, and physician-patient communication” (as cited in Murero & Rice, 2013, 31). However, developments in medical technologies have not kept up with current advances in health care. According to Safran (2003), “The past three decades have seen revolutionary changes in healthcare but only evolutionary changes in healthcare informational systems” (186). For example, most medical matters are carried out by stamped mail, fax, or phone; very few hospitals have automated order-entry-systems and electronic medical records. Healthcare technologies did not also keep up with advances in other industries, like airlines and banking. Disruptive Technology Disruptive technologies are defined as “technologies that fundamentally alter existing markets, by providing a new product or service much cheaper than existing approaches” (The Lancet, 2012, 27). Technology is a main cause of unmanageable increase in healthcare costs in industrialized nations like the U.S. A large portion of increases in overall expenditure in healthcare in American from 1960 to 2007 have been attributed to technological developments. Disruptive technologies for health care have been widely talked about, particularly in societies with expensive healthcare systems. Several inexpensive technologies already affect developed countries, for instance, a portable MAC 400 ECG (The Lancet, 2012, 27). Accessibility of these affordable portable ECGs might assist in diagnosing heart attacks that are not seen in resource-poor or primary care situations. Fast diagnostic exams are one more technology that has the capacity to be applied all over the world even though originally created for poor societies. Self-diagnosis for human papillomavirus and chlamydia made for poor and developing societies could be useful and encourage patients to diagnose themselves in developed countries (The Lancet, 2012, 27). New products are not the only ones that can be disruptive technologies. The solution to the spread of HIV in Africa has resulted in the creation of technologies like algorithmic HIV treatment practices, which may be applied extensively in rich countries to regularize care and remove needless gap (Millery & Kukafka, 2010, 275). Advantages and Disadvantages of Technologies Technological developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have encouraged the invention of the electronic health records (EHRs), the complete collection of health care services given to a patient over his/her lifetime. In spite of the huge potentials and usefulness that EHRs can possibly give, their use in current healthcare institutions creates several possibly negative and severe outcomes, like technological failures, identity theft, and confidentiality violations, and identity crimes (Sears & Jacko, 2002). Still, EHRs provide numerous benefits compared to traditional paper-based procedures of recording patient information. Better access to patient data is facilitated by the use of EHRs. Such access is crucial in emergency conditions, and also helps public health authorities in carrying out incident and outbreak studies that could stop the spread of fatal diseases like SARS (Spekowius & Wendler, 2006). However, in spite of the encouraging benefits of healthcare technologies, like EHRs, one should be aware of the compromise between confidentiality or privacy and accessibility. Rind and colleagues (1997) argued that “it is not always possible to achieve both perfect confidentiality as well as perfect access to patient information, whether information is computerized or handwritten” (as cited in Kabene, 2010, 61). Privacy and confidential information should be taken into account so as to use EHRs to their most useful form. Use of Information Technologies in Healthcare The information technology revolution is transforming how healthcare services are provided. Such new instruments give doctors the chance to gain access to important medical data on a real-time hence giving it more influence in patient care. Applying information, standard procedures, and guidelines accessible from profiling, doctors can get valuable information on their medical behavior and attitudes toward their health condition (Kabene, 2010). Patients can acquire clear information about their illness and its status, thus becoming knowledgeable healthcare users. Some institutions are present to train doctors and other healthcare providers in the application of such technologies (Safran, 2003). Moreover, both nonprofit and profit institutions are creating the technologies and putting in the capital required to transform or translate data into information. Basically, the dedication by these different agencies to use correctly the new ICTs that are developing, will allow health care to progress quickly in its pursuit of quality patient care. During the 1980s, while managed care spread out and attention to quality care rose, institutions created standards and guidelines to handle use and quality of care (Murero & Rice, 2013). Concrete Use of Technologies in Diagnostic and Treatment Over time, technologies or machines started to fulfill greater function in the medical field, as experts created new and improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries. As medicine keeps on evolving, so does healthcare technologies and its function or role in every part of care. History is filled with examples of the way technology transformed the medical field. A machine that changed how physicians conducted diagnosis and treatment of illnesses is diagnostic imaging or, more popularly known as, X-ray (Bulgiba, 2004). Created in 1895, X-rays enabled doctors to check the inner functioning and condition of the body without having to conduct surgery. The application of X-rays rapidly became widespread, such as for cancer diagnosis and treatments, until it was discovered that the radiation brings about serious burns and was associated with the development of cancer itself (Spekowius & Wendler, 2006). Safety procedures were created and eventually experts were developing the technology to invent other equipment like computerized tomography or, more widely known as CAT scans, ultrasound, and MRI (The Lancet, 2012). For centuries, doctors and scientists researched the impact of electricity on the body and devised methods of using it in diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries. In the latter part of the 19th century doctors connected wires to different parts of the body to monitor the heartbeats of the patients, but the actual innovation arrived in 1902 when Willem Einthoven applied the very first ECG instrument to document the earliest electrocardiogram (The Lancet, 2012). Electrocardiography (ECG) remains one of the most dependable instruments for identifying the frequency and speed of heartbeats, diagnosing problems and disorders in the heart, and the impact of tools, mechanisms, or drugs to control the rhythm of the heart (Kabene, 2010). These two diagnostic and treatment technologies are just particular examples of the way technologies revolutionized the medical field and innovators, doctors, and scientists keep on creating new technologies, guidelines, and drugs that save people’s lives. The application of technology is penetrating the healthcare enterprise, with the common use of electronic medical records, electronic communication of health data, and use of telemedicine and mobile devices (Kabene, 2010). Evidence-based procedures enable physicians to identify the possible causes of an illness and the most appropriate way to manage and treat it. As the medical field has transformed, new illnesses have emerged. It is not possible for a single physician to know how to diagnose and treat every illness that appears (Murero & Rice, 2013). However, with evidence-based procedures, they can be thoroughly informed and guided. Conclusions Technology has indeed revolutionized health care. Numerous changes have been witnessed in the medical field, especially in the areas of diagnosis and treatment. Some of the major technological breakthroughs in the healthcare sector are the electronic health record, diagnostic imaging or X-ray, and electrocardiography (ECG). Internet technologies and information and communication technologies (ICTs) further push the transformation of health care systems. Social media, for instance, made possible added interaction between health care providers and healthcare consumers. The Internet also provided easier access to important healthcare information. Today average individuals can be well-informed of medical information because of the Internet. Disruptive technologies, like the portable MAC 400 ECG, which are developed for poor and developing societies, are now being used in high-income settings in order to lower healthcare costs and provide more quality healthcare services to a more people. However, despite these encouraging developments in technology, one should be aware of their possible negative consequences, like confidentiality violation with regard to electronic health record. But despite these changes in health care because of technological developments, there are still healthcare organizations that remain traditional in their delivery of medical services, like the use of stamped mail and fax. Whatever their reasons, it is important to take into consideration a technological upgrade because it can enhance patient care and service delivery. References Bulgiba, A. (2004). Information Technology in Health Care—What the Future Holds. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 16(1), 64-71. Kabene, S. (2010). Healthcare and the Effect of Technology: Developments, Challenges and Advancements. New York: IGI Global Snippet. Millery, M. & Kukafka, R. (2010). Health Information Technology and Quality of Health Care: Strategies for Reducing Disparities in Underresourced Settings. Medical Care Research and Review, 67(5), 268-298. Murero, M. & Rice, R. (2013). The Internet and Health Care: Theory, Research, and Practice. London: Routledge. Richardson, R. (2003). E-health for Europe. In B. Blobel & P. Pharow, Advanced health telematics and telemedicine (pp. 151-156). Amsterdam: IOS Press. The Lancet. (2012). Technologies for Global Health: The Lancet Commissions. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences. Safran, C. (2003). The collaborative edge: Patient empowerment for vulnerable populations. International Journal for Medical Informatics, 69, 185-190. Sears, J. & Jacko, J. (2002). The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies and Emerging Applications. New York: CRC Press. Siminerio, L. (2010). The Role of Technology and the Chronic Care Model. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 4(2), 470-475. Spekowius, G. & Wendler, T. (2006). Advances in Healthcare Technology: Shaping the Future of Medical Care. The Netherlands: Springer. Wilson, E.V. & Lankton, N.K. (2004). Modeling patients’ acceptance of provider-delivered e-health. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 11(4), 241-248. Read More