The Increasing Cost of Healthcare as New Technologies Are Introduced - Research Paper Example

Section/# Healthcare and Technology Introduction: It is without question that science has greatly benefited from the integration of further technology over the past several years. Furthermore, it is also without question that the growth of this technology has taken place in something of an exponential format; as new technologies leapfrog off one another and the most recent breakthrough lends assistance within another area of healthcare research. This is very much the case with regards to the medical profession. As new technologies come available and the impact of these technologies allow for the treatment of a variety of different diseases and ailments to a better degree, an underlying economic reality that is invariably represented has to do with the fact that the rapid level of technological advancement represented within the is causing an exponential growth with regard to the overall cost of healthcare. Essentially, the following research paper will be broken into four distinct components. The first of which is predicated upon seeking to define the problem and explain its overall relevance. The second relates to examining the problem from a variety of perspectives and utilizing economics as a means of educating the reader with respect to the complexities of the problem. Thirdly, the analysis will pose a potential solution to the problem and finally point out strengths and weaknesses associated with the proposed solution. It is the hope of this particular author that such a level of discussion and analysis will not only be beneficial with regard to understanding the issue but also with respect to helping to correct it as future stakeholders will be able to recognize or issues and impact that continue to reduce the overall utility of healthcare by its cost ever upwards. Problem Definition: By means of definition, the problem of technology and its growth is ultimately something of a double-edged sword. When one references the fact that limited levels of technology, exhibited during the early 19th century, created a drastically different Outlook for the patient, the reader can adequately see that a focus on improving medical technology and promoting development is as essential as any other aspect of the provision of quality care. Yet, as with any level of focus, it is necessary to understand the fact that there are other requirements that the healthcare profession must necessarily focus upon; not all of which are innately tied to the need to promote further levels of technology. Economic Analysis: In terms of analyzing this particular problem from a variety of economic perspectives, it should firstly be understood that the promotion of technology and integrating technology into healthcare is a primary concern by which all stakeholders should be invariably. However, by much the same token, the high cost of healthcare, and ever increasing concern with respect to limited resources, is another issue that recent scholarship has focused. Ultimately, the median between these two is a core goal of what healthcare professionals and stakeholders within the system prize to the greatest extent. In terms of utilizing economic analysis, one can envision a traditional grass in which the X axis is defined by quality of care and the Y axis is defined by cost (impacted directly by levels of technology). Within such a graph, there would be an exponential increase with respect to the quality of care and potential for positive outcomes that would be exhibited within a situation in which infinite cost could be directed towards engaging the healthcare needs of a specific patient. However, this idealistic situation is not in keeping with reality; mainly due to the fact that constrained budgets, limited resources, and a litany of different demands have caused a situation in which primary health care providers and those responsible for developing new technology find this particular process is only beneficial up until a certain point; namely the opportunity cost at which an individual is willing and able to expand resources as a function of receiving treatment (Nuti et al., 2012). Essentially, reducing healthcare and medical ethics to such a mathematical equation is something of an affront to human dignity; nevertheless, it is a very real and prescient aspect of the way in which technology impacts upon the cost of healthcare which in turn impacts upon the degree of willingness that an individual have to engage with a specific treatment. Proposed Solution: The past several years has noted a departure from traditional capitalist economics. The introduction of Obama care and other regulations with respect to how the private sector can behave has sufficiently constrained the overall choices that the individual consumer has with respect to how they will engage with their own health care needs. Whereas this particular analysis is not specifically interested in launching into a political polemic, part of the research question towards which this analysis is directed is focused on proposing a potential solution to this problem. As such, it is the understanding of this analyst that allowing the free market to operate and individuals interested in investing in new technologies to do so unimpeded and without any regulatory constriction will ultimately benefit the end consumer to the best level and degree. For instance, individuals of a more socialist background might indicate that the way to correct the height and increased cost of technology would be to somehow regulate producers of these technologies to the ultimate limits on which they could profit (Ronco et al., 2014). However, by leaving these limits on, this ultimately increases utility to the consumer at a heightened level; due to the fact that other interested businessmen will then enter the market and attempt to capture market share from an individual or group of individuals that are making an extraordinarily high rate of earnings on a new technology. Individuals that would be opposed to this particular point of view might necessarily indicate that the system has been in place within the United States healthcare system for the past several decades. However, the fact of the matter is that what has truly been represented is and oligarchic system that acts as a monopoly; seeking to keep new investors and new technologies out of the current market and driving up costs even higher. Accordingly, if the government is to play any role at all in regulating technology in seeking to bring down the cost of healthcare, it should be with respect to ruthlessly punishing any predatory technique that is engaged by many of the medical technology giant that continually buy out and/or otherwise intimidate new entrants into the market. Strengths and Weaknesses: Firstly, nursing is a realm of medical science that most directly integrates with the needs of the patient. whereas it is true that doctors and other healthcare professionals focus their energies upon bettering the patient and ameliorating or curing any problems that they might have, both on the physical and psychological front, the nurse is ultimately the healthcare professional and most regularly integrate with the patient and is able to infer upon their immediate condition over a period of time (Lu et al., 2009). Accordingly, this regular integration with the needs of the patients previously required a nurse to spend a great deal of time analyzing vitals, writing down key information, and transcribing health records as a means of seeking to develop a level of inference with regards to whether or not condition was improving or worsening. Yet, with the invention and widespread application of computers, and computing devices, within the healthcare profession, the amount of time that the nurse is required to track and record the details of patient vitals and statistics. The overall freedom that this has given is profound (Huston, 2013). Further, technology within the healthcare sector has allowed for a level of checks and balances that would otherwise not exist. For instance, years of medical training alert professionals with regards to key drug interactions and issues that they should be aware of with patients that suffer from more than one condition/illness (Fernanda et al., 2013). Although this training and education is absolutely important, there is still the potential possibility for an individual healthcare professional to merely forget or overlook a certain core aspect of the way in which certain interactions or realities of patient health must be understood and engaged. As such, technology has made it possible for computer algorithms and programs to scan patient history, have current and past drug use and prescription interactions uploaded, and instantaneously alert the medical professional if a conflict arises. This has greatly expanded the reach and capabilities of nurses and healthcare professionals as they are able to integrate with the needs of the patient in a more immediate, effective, and failsafe manner. The analysis that has thus far been conducted would be remiss if it were not to discuss the way in which technology within nursing has helped to promote specializations and different career paths for those that are specifically interested in a particular aspect of healthcare knowledge and information. Accordingly, even 50 years ago, the designations and different representations of nurses within the healthcare profession were drastically different, if not incomparable, to the ones that we had today. Rather than merely branching out and creating unnecessary complexity with regards to the different types and specialties of nursing, the current representation is indicative of the system in which the proliferation of technology requires individuals to specialize in a given manner (Doswell et al., 2013). The changes that are evident within the current time are such that ignoring them cannot increase the potential for positive development within the realm of healthcare provision. Instead, engaging with these changes and directing resources towards them in the current time is the most efficient, ethical, and realistic solution that can be put forward. Likewise, technology within the field of nursing has fundamentally shifted the way in which healthcare professionals integrate with patient needs. This is not merely constrained to the field of nursing; however, when one begins to analyze the way in which technology impacts upon the role of healthcare professional, it is the nurse who has been primarily responsible for integrating with this change and promoting the needs of the patient accordingly. Interestingly, the technological change and growth of the nursing profession is not complete. Rather, it is the expectation of this author that the growth in technology will continue to integrate with the field of healthcare, and specifically nursing, in the years to come. This is likely to such an impact that future generations of nurses will be trained in entirely different ways and expected to be familiar and expert in entirely different technologies as compared to the present time. Conclusion: In order for the field of medicine and health care provision to keep up with the current rate of technological changes, as well as seeking to apply these to the environment as quickly as possible, a primary focus on the need for continual research and development must be noted. All too often the medical field engages with treatments and patient needs based upon paradigms that are outdated and do not make full use of the technological shifts that have been noted over the past several years. In order to effect such a change, it will be necessary to healthcare professionals to be up to date on the latest research; as well as requisite healthcare entities expending a larger and larger percentage of their profits on the acquisition and training for new procedures and techniques. The downside to all of this is that many healthcare stakeholders realize that this process is costly and as such do not have a high desire to engage with it. However, the cost of such a layer of involvement and foresight decreases over time. The flip side of remaining inactive is that the cost of healthcare will continue to rise precipitously as massive overhauls of existing levels of care are demanded by the populace; rather than a gradual and continual level of change being exhibited within the healthcare industry in a proactive manner – as has been encouraged within this brief discussion. References Doswell, W., Braxter, B., DeVito Dabbs, ,., Nilsen, W., & Klem, M. (2013). mHealth: Technology for nursing practice, education, and research. Journal Of Nursing Education & Practice, 3(10), 99-109. doi:10.5430/jnep.v3n10p99 Lu, Z., Chen, W., Chen, H., Ou, M., & Lin, H. (2009). Reflections on technology and nursing profession development [Chinese].Journal Of Nursing, 56(3), 88-92. Fernanda, Torres, P., Norma Valia, D., Regina, & Machado. (2013). HARD TECHNOLOGY IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AND THE SUBJECTIVITY OF NURSING WORKERS. Revista De Pesquisa: Cuidado E Fundamental, 5(4), 681-689. doi:10.9789/2175-5361.2013v5n4p681 Huston, C. (2013). The Impact of Emerging Technology on Nursing Care: Warp Speed Ahead. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing,18(2), 1. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol18No02Man01 Nuti, S., Vainieri, M., & Frey, M. (2012). Healthcare resources and expenditure in financial crisis: scenarios and managerial strategies.Journal Of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 2540-43. doi:10.3109/14767058.2012.715022 Ronco, C., Mason, G., Nayak Karopadi, A., Milburn, A., & Hegbrant, J. (2014). Healthcare systems and chronic kidney disease: putting the patient in control. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 29(5), 958-963. Read More