Personal Note On Medical Informatics

Not only has the cases of preventable chronic diseases increased over the years affecting half of the U.S population, they account for 86% of the health care costs. Programs and policies that address risk factors and causes of these diseases at their roots would not only promote public health but reduce the cost of health care both in treatment and hospitalization.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This saying goes to show that investing in preventative care is the only way to effectively reform health care plans in America. It is no secret that there are many issues facing health care; however, the most important issue seems to be the lack of funding for preventative care. Redistributing health care related funds into areas like public health and preventative medicine can increase the overall quality of life for patients. If health care reform revolves around preventative medicine, then America’s standard of health will rise. A healthier society will lessen the demand for expensive life-saving surgeries, thus decreasing the overall cost of health care. The overall solution for this issue would be to set a realistic health care budget that correlates to the United States’ current standard of health, thus majority of the budget focuses on preventative medicine.

Many experts in healthcare economics point out that chronic medical conditions are directly associated with higher costs (G., 2010). This association is mainly attributed to the high usage of all types of care (Kongstvedt, 2013). Reports show that the number of people suffering with chronic conditions is radically rising and forecasts suggest that the number of American’s with one or more chronic conditions will continue to grow by an estimated 37% between 2000 and 2030 (G., 2010). It is in our patient’s main interest to shift our current focus from treatment for acute conditions to target a better utilization of the recorded 78% of health spending devoted to people with chronic conditions. The new strategic approach is one of developing quality medical care for people with chronic conditions which require ongoing care and care management to improve their health status (Kongstvedt, 2013).

Upgrading our documentation to information and informatics comes with many advantages for the health care team to improve quality and safe ty improvement. Also, the use of technology such as telehealth, telenursing and videoconferencing are on the rise, and will be embedded into our communities and nursing organizations so that we can reach people around the country who do not have accessibility quality health care. Using technology to educate patients and families about credible websites, and how to search for pertinent information that is relevant to his or her health is a priority. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary emergency rooms visits. These actions foster communication and minimize anxiety

In the present, it is harder for doctors to leave patience uninformed with the help of Google or Web MD. Today internet has been an almost unlimited source of information at our fingertips. Sometimes people would get themselves paranoid by creating a self-diagnosis by using web MD. When a patient would go to hospitals, they ask more question and challenge doctors competence of what or why they might be diagnosed.

Over the past decade, virtually every major industry invested heavily in computerization. The heath care industry was no exception to the rise in the use of technology. These technologies are starting to allow health care practitioners to offer faster, and more efficient patient care than ever before. No doubt this is the right direction we expect health care to follow.

The third site that I will evaluate is MedlinePlus. This site is the “National Institute of Health’s Web site for patients and their families and friends” (MedlinePlus, 2010, para.1) and it is produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The website provides information on the latest treatments, information on drugs and supplements, definitions of words and you can also review certain medical videos. Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg is the Director of the site and of the National Library of Medicine. He calls this site “a goldmine of good health information from the world’s largest medical library” (MedlinePlus, 2010, para. 3). It has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and various trusted sources on over 800 diseases and conditions (MedlinePlus, 2010). Just like the other two websites that I have chosen, the site is not meant to provide medical advice. Instead it provides consumers with information to better understand their health and any illness they may have.

The U.S. spend billions of dollars every year on preventative care such as heart disease, cancer, AIDS and many more disease; millions more are spent on trying to find a cure for disease such as MS, MD, AIDS, cancer, polo and so many more. The advantage to the U.S. would come by way of universal health care as it is today. With different measures of insurance coverage, a person benefits more by having the freedom to choose which health care and insurance needs are suitable for them, rather than being confined to only one group (Chernichovsky & Leibowitz, 2010).

Patient portals offer online access available 24/7. A portal opens up the door to communication and information sharing between physicians, nurses and patients. This provides a direct communication where a patient is no longer waiting for a phone call about test results, which could increase anxiety to some. The results would present

WebMD has created an organization that we believe fulfills the promise of health information on the Internet. We provide credible information, supportive communities, as well as in-depth reference material about health subjects that matter to individuals. We are a source for original as well as timely health information as well as material from well-known content providers.

I will admit that I am a Google addict and use the site probably 5 times a day on average. I Google everything from a celebrity I saw on TV, to a word in Downton Abbey I don’t understand, to a concept in my Biology class. Among the things I Google is information about an illness or symptom. I usually just type in the general symptoms I am feeling and then click on a few of the different sites that pop up. With this info I do not self-medicate, but I just try to better understand what is going on. Now that I think about it, I never really thought that the info on a site I believed to be trusted, like WebMD, could be inaccurate. WebMD and MayoClinic.com are both sites that I would look at when the popped up on my Google search. I did tend to like MayoClinic.com better, but only because it was easier to use. I just assumed both sites would be credible and trustworthy.

The healthcare system plays a key role in the economic stability of our country, as every year trillions are spent in attempt to combat disease and health issues that plaque humanity. As it makes up a significant amount of the expenditures in the economy, so the costs associated with health care of those in pain from illness and injury, including lost productivity, increased need of assistance in living and also the cost of death in some cases, is important to the economic stability and over all standard of living in our country. The key to economic prosperity is balancing the need for care with the costs of illness to keep as many people healthy and well without breaking the bank of collective society. The costs of healthcare have been increasingly problematic in recent years with so many issues surrounding the current system. With the “total health care spending in the United States expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970, meaning that health care spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2021” (Aetna). With this in mind it is apparent that as we look at the trillion-dollar industry of the medical community it seems that it needs to be a major focus of our nation as a whole and with the many issues come many creative solutions. First let us analyze the reasons behind the current cost and the major problems facing this industry and than discus what

More so, the usage of the Internet and other global media has expanded the ability of patients to have access to an enormous amount of information about diseased previously thought “too technical” requiring government policy that sought to limit the control and influence of physicians.

The downside is that medical costs are high. Health care costs - for doctors, hospital stays and even medicines - are among the most expensive in the world. There is no such

The future trends in health care are limitless. From using applications that perform EKG’s to robot-assisted surgery, the rapid expansion of technology applications in health care is astounding. Advancing technology also pushes the boundaries of health care in its ability to integrate health care information. The integration of health care information is critical to the effective, efficient delivery of quality care in a now fragmented health care system. This paper will assess how the internet or any new forms of electronic communication can be used as an external delivery source of communicating patient-specific information, address the impact of distance delivery on health care, how these communication issues impact health care today and