Technological Advancements In The Healthcare Industry

Technology is constantly advancing and improving the quality of life. An idea is presented and it becomes a solution to a problem. Technological advances in the health care field have improved the care given to patients, made diagnoses more precise, decreased surgeries times, and enhanced the medical field in so many ways that it can not be addressed in this one page paper.

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.

Medical technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases or medical conditions that affect humans. This may included but not limited too, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical equipment. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and reductions in hospital stays and rehabilitation times. Recent advances in medical technology have also focused on cost reduction. Medical technology may include medical devices, information technology, biotech, and healthcare services. The impacts of medical technology may involve social and ethical issues. For example physicians may seek objective information from technology rather than listening to subjective patient reports. A major contributor of healthcare expenditure in America is the advancement of medical technology. According to several studies it is shown that there is a correlation between the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and money allocated to healthcare. One of the leading theories is that medical technology is growing faster than expected.

Additionally, advancements in medical information technology would give doctors better access and improve patient care. In addition, increased technology could assist with monitoring and managing diseases. Medical advancements could decrease costs to your business by way of decreased insurance premiums for you and your employees.

The health care industry is the fastest growing field. As the years go by, more and more discoveries will be made. This paper will discuss the changes from the past 10 years, what I believe will be the biggest change in the next 10 years, my role in the industry, adapting my skills to grow with the change, my perception towards the changes, technologies role, and financial and economical issues.

Science and technology have always been joined at the hip. The evolution of health care services in the United States (U. S.) undoubtedly has been shaped at least in part by advancements in scientific research and knowledge, and technological innovation (Shi & Singh, 2012). The following exploration focuses on ways a specific scientific or technological event or innovation affected health care provision in the U. S. to date. Health care is dynamic. Science and technology continue to prove themselves as important facilitators of the change processes that occur in health care. The scientific method and nursing process are just a few examples that

Less invasive surgical technology such as laparoscopic procedures can reduce patient recovery time and allow for more low-cost outpatient procedures

Healthcare delivery in the United States has morphed through substantial changes over the years with most changes occurring as a result of technological advances in medicine. Though technological advances directly affect health care delivery in America, other factors affect it as well. As reported by Ball (2012), two of the earliest and most important technological advances that affected the system of health care delivery in the United States were the invention of the x-ray and the discovery of germs. These two advances drastically altered the health care delivery system and illustrate the way in which other technological advances may have bearing on the system. Further, these technological advances have drastically altered the public opinion with regard to the health care delivery system in the United States. Unfortunately, the resulting public opinion of the current health care delivery system is not necessarily a positive position. According to Jonas and Kovner (2008), this is probably due to the fact that health care in the United States remains a mystery to most. Additionally, the public opinion of the health care delivery system will continue to be affected by advances in technology as it was by the identification of germs and the use of x-rays in medical diagnosis.

The perception of the general public is that technology will improve healthcare efficiency, quality, safety, and cost (Powell-Cope, Nelson, Patterson, 2008). However,

The evaluation of new technology in today's health care environment has become a very important issue for hospitals and other health care providers. Much has been written in the areas of financial analysis, price negotiation, and acquisition errors. This article addresses issues that hospitals and other health care providers may not have considered in their evaluation of new technology. These issues include: (1) costs currently not included in the evaluation process, (2) consideration of the threat of litigation, (3) use of technology to attract patients and physicians, (4) adjustment of payment rates from payers, (5) evaluation of the physical layout of the facilities surrounding the new technology, and (6) commitment to the process.

Many advances help fuel the economic growth and create better quality and care for patients, even when cost is considered. However, there are some technology that, according to Healthcare technology and technology assessment” new technologies are often introduced into the marketplace with little evidence about their usefulness in comparison to already existing devices or procedures.

New technologies provide for various positive impacts in the healthcare system. Some of which include:

Every day we experience change in some form or another. Change is a constant in our lives. The fast-paced nature of change is often linked to technology and innovation (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2014). The goal within healthcare is for leaders to use technology and innovation in a way that allows for efficient and successful production and management of positive change.

Technology is essential for improving the efficiency of today’s healthcare world, and to continue the advancement of the processes involving patients’ care. In fact, according to Dr. John Haughom, senior advisor of Health Catalyst states, “Over the past several decades, thanks to improved diagnostic and therapeutic options, healthcare has experienced an explosion of innovations designed to improve life expectancy and quality of life.” In other words, technology is rapidly changing the healthcare world, whether the change is causing a good or bad effect on the methods of healthcare, as technology progresses the healthcare world must follow. Although, technology can cause small dilemmas in the healthcare world, for example, malfunctions, unreliability, and security breaks; it is capable of improving the healthcare world by providing electronic patient records (EPR), patient’s satisfaction, and increase accuracy within a hospital. Technology has proven to be an important player in furthering a hospital into the challenging game of becoming successful, and innovated.

As a nursing student, one may ponder how technology will impact healthcare. Technology drastically impacts healthcare. There are numerous angles to