Technology And Medicine : Promise And Peril

Accompanying with the enormous technological progress, medicine as a modern science has been affected in many positive ways. However, the timeless tradition and the everlasting secret of medicine is merely care giving. Modern medicine has been relying too much on technology, which is cool, but also very cold from a humanistic aspect. All the patients are presented by a series of numbers via binary signals of the internet. Nowadays, medicine is more about running tests and diagnosing based on numbers, as opposed to investigating symptoms upon the physician’s observational skills and comprehensive knowledge. As bedside caring becomes less concerned as it was in the old days, the diminishing of the sense of caring in medical professionals appears as a side effect. There is no doubt that technology enables medical professionals to perform all types of fancy tasks, though it is their offering of compassion that comforts the patients the most. And this quintessence of medical practice ought not to be overlooked at any point of the history of medicine.

Despite the idea of physicians as, by definition, healers, they often play an unbalanced role in the patient-doctor relationship. Doctors may have a disproportionate amount of power in their relationship with the patient; a patient's life may literally be in their hands. The patient-doctor relationship thus often manifests as a microcosm of a wider hierarchy of medicine present in today's healthcare system. Even small things, like a doctor’s white coat, can reinforce this hierarchy; patients view doctors who wear a white coat as having greater authority and expertise (Boutin-Foster, Foster, & Konopasek,

From the beginning of time, doctors and medicine have been put up on a pedestal and greatly admired. They have given to the ones that are sick hope and a way to survive. So many of people have put all their money, faith, and hope into doctors, clinging to any chance that their disease or sickness can be cured. Parents wish for their children to grow up to be doctors one day. Our fascination with doctors stems from many reasons, but the main reason is that they have always been the ones to help us find a solution to our greatest fears, such as death, pain, and sickness. Throughout history doctors have accomplished many great wonders and cured many diseases

For as long as I could remember, I have seen my father rushing to the hospital in a white coat, answering pagers in the middle of important family conversations and attending night calls even in the most terrible weather. I had always wondered; what could be so important that it belittles every other responsibility in his life. It was only after many years of anguish and protests that it finally made sense to me. This defining moment of realization occurred when I first met a patient in his office. I saw how the gratitude in the patient’s eyes can provide a sense of fulfillment that triumphs all other feelings in the universe. It was human life that was most important. Being a doctor does not make you a mere healer but also gives you the responsibility of a caregiver. I had never felt more proud of my father and that was the day I felt the urge to relive this feeling many times over. It was there in that moment that I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

A doctor’s mind and heart are very much involved in the patient’s road to recovery. Evidence in support of this statement is shown in William Carlos William poem “ The Red Wheelbarrow, and his essay “The Practice.” Also, in Jack Coulehan poems “The Man with Stars Inside Him, The Six Hundred Pound Man,” and the article “What’s a good doctor and how do you make one?” Individually, each reading and poem has expressed doctor’s emotions with their patients, and what characteristics have guided them into becoming a good doctor. The readings are a representation of how doctors are in fact remorseful when it comes to their patients. While reading these articles, I realize that doctors have been restricted to how much emotion they are allowed to show. All doctors have their weaknesses and their strengths, and they should be vocal about them especially when it comes to treating their patients.

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.

Honorable doctors do their best to uphold the Hippocratic oath by being kind to their patients and doing their best to connect. At Harvard, they are now teaching how to connect and bond with patients through Patient-Doctor classes to create a more effective and comforting hospital experience. I know when I go to the hospital, I enjoy when doctors and nurses talk to me about my life and theirs. That bond that is created helps build a trust that this doctor cares and wants what's best for those that they treat; when things go wrong, it also opens up the ability to comfort one another. Building relationships between doctors and patients change the dynamics so that it ends up being doctor

The first article I reviewed outlined the history of the EHR and discussed the possible future directions of the EHR while the second article measured the successes of the CPOE and new avenues for hospitals with the CPOE.

This article looks into the profession and personal relationship expectations professionals are expected to have with their living patiences and the deceased, as students. Before the 1960 to the 1970 's the expectations are set that the doctors are to know more, have good bedside manner, be personal but not to cross the line of developing relationships. This eventually changed to the expectations of having "an 'affective neutrality ' or a 'detached concern ' for clients". Due to the social norms of the time of persons in authority situations having a more colder demeanor to gain that power over others. There seems to be a fine line of expectations of the physicians to show sympathy, but not to care to much in worry that it would effect the decision and care of the health care being provided. Along with having control over the way a physician cares for the individuals other basic human emotions, such as disgust and attraction need to be in check at all times as well. Unity in caring for all patients is key , not only as

Doctors spend years in medical school for one reason: to help people. Physicians should be allowed to help patients in every way, even if it means performing PAS. It is a physician’s duty to relieve suffering (Rogatz 31). A doctor’s main goal is to help patients free themselves of suffering, but if the only relief is death, a

Doctors have always been thought of as the saviors of mankind, the healers, and caretakers of our utter existence. Even ancient civilizations revered the medicine men as having special power to protect life. The trust of a physician is sacred. This is why

Dr. Zhou has also agreed with this statement. When asked about his opinion of the knowledge and skills required to have to survive in the medical industry, he has mentioned being loving, caring, tolerant, and responsible towards the patient. It is important to connect well with patients, especially if one is traumatized or in an unhealthy state of mind. A doctor should help the patient ease their pain not only physically, but mentally as well. Therefore, compassion and communication is an important aspect of caring for the

Like people, chronic conditions come in all shapes and sizes. From a minor inconvenience to in-your-face, life changing ailments, chronic conditions account for significant spending in the United States. It is fortunate that for many disorders, an individual may choose to make better life style choices resulting in improvement of the severity of the condition, or in some cases, eradication of the illness. Furthermore, chronic conditions and its consequences may be immediate or deferred, depending on the individual. In addition to lifestyle choices, technology offers opportunities to improve quality of life. A review of deferred and immediate consequences of chronic conditions, and well as the role of technology in seizure disorders, schizophrenia, and congestive heart failure will be explored.

The doctor-patient relationship always has been and will remain an essential basis of care, in which high quality information is gathered and procedures are made as well as provided. This relationship is a critical foundation to medical ethics that all doctors should attempt to follow and live by. Patients must also have confidence in their physicians to trust the solutions and work around created to counter act certain illnesses and disease. Doctor-patient relationships can directly be observed in both the stories and poems of Dr. William Carlos Williams as well as in the clinical tales of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Both of these doctors have very similar and diverse relationships with multiple patients

In today’s medical field technology plays a big role when it comes to patient care. Technology is huge when it comes to giving the patient the best type of quality care when they are in the hospital. In the old days people would just write it down on a sheet of paper and record it by hand, which caused mistakes. Now with the Electronic Health Record those mistakes are drastically declining. Statistics have shown that using the Electronic Health Record has lowered Nursing mistakes as well as improved patient care. Our society has progressed through the years and has been introduced with the Electronic Health Record which has drastically improved our health care system. The Electronic Health Record provides great communication between