Three Ways Has Technology Changed Healthcare

Advancements in technology have made it possible for people to access medical information, communicate with their doctor, manage and track diseases, seek help, and maintain anonymity. Technology has facilitated the tracking of medical information, for example, Kaiser Permanente uses a computerized system to store and track patient information. Any doctor in a

While advancements in technology have positively impacted the nursing field, it has also created huge concerns with patient privacy and sharing of protected health information leading to detrimental effects to patients and their families. Indeed, technology is changing the face of healthcare with positive innovations to reduce medication errors and documentation errors. However, technology at our fingertips has created immense concerns with sharing of protected health information of patients via social media, email and other means of communication via technology. This paper addresses why I feel the advancement of technology has numerous deficits that need more research and implementation of new laws and policies to safeguard the

Advances in modern technology surrounds us in our day to day lives, allowing conveniences and efficiency at our fingertips. Great strides have been made over the years with technology, and the healthcare industry along with many other industries have adopted this new way of functioning; electronically. The effects of technology have come to the forefront in where our government has acknowledged the benefits and opportunities. “The promise of Health Information Technology for improving quality and safety of health care while reducing costs has caught the eye of policy makers and other leaders in health care” (Hersh, 2006). It deeply affects how we connect, interact, and communicate internally and externally, but also gives us a sense of control on how we engage ourselves to the innovative software and systems.

Going back hundreds of years, we can trace the history of health care. Although it has evolved over the years, it all has a common goal; to heal those who are ill. Technology is one of the major evolutions and now plays a big role in the health care system. It helps patients to be more involved with their healthcare. They can make appointments, follow up on test results, and contact their doctors. Back then, they didn’t even have all the medicine we have now, let alone the technology. We can only imagine what is in store for the future.

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.

Information Technology allows health care providers to collect, store, retrieve and transfer information electronically. More specific discussion of IT in health care is challenging due to lack of specific definitions, the volume of applications and a rapid pace of change in technology. Information technology has the potential to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care. The health care system generally uses less IT than other industries. IT increases the ability of physicians, nurses, clinical technicians, and others to readily access and use the right information about their patients to Improve care. Studies have shown that better technologies leads to better care.

In observation, (Fahnestock, McComb, & Deshmukh, 2013) stated "Information technologies are transforming the way healthcare is delivered. Innovations such as computer-based patient records, hospital information systems, computer-based decision support tools, community health information networks and new ways of distributing health information.” (p.3.2). In the sector of delivering healthcare using technology, has made it easier for healthcare professionals to access medical records, digitization of prescriptions and view test results. With the use of high-performance devices being used in the hospital, helps to make the jobs of healthcare professionals a little easier. As well as relieve anxiety from anxious patients that may be awaiting lab results to come back. Therefore, IT devices and services has been and continues to be a tremendous help and game changer for the healthcare system. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to help shape and reform the healthcare

Technology in our age today has been emerging, and as the years advance it is certain that it will continue to facilitate the world that we live in on many different scales. In relation to medical care and advancement, technology can be used in many ways to enhance healthcare delivery and patient care. Through technology communication within the interdisciplinary teams of a patient which sometimes involves various specialties, is highly facilitated. Medical records are now easily shared within the team of specialist. For example, records such as specialty doctor's recommendations and laboratory records arrive faster at the primary care physician fingertip. This helps immensely in the providers decision making process for sometimes very time sensitive, lifesaving treatments preferences. Technology also helps to improve health care delivery and patient care because it has played a major role in decreasing the rates of preventable medical errors that are sometimes costly to patient lives. In an article published by the Internatinal Journal of Health

Technology has been advancing with the years, and it has changed how people live, communicate, travel, and learn. In particular, healthcare has changed due to the continuous technological advancements. Robotic advancements specifically have been transforming the health care industry. It is becoming noticeable that robotics are now being used for a variety of purposes in healthcare including drug making, moving supplies, administering drugs to patients, and monitoring patient vitals. A progressing form of robotics in healthcare is robotic surgery. One of the top functioning robotic surgery devices is the da Vinci Surgical System. Since 2000, surgical device has completed over 20,000 surgeries, which has set up the movement of using

Further, the speaker notes how information has impacted the healthcare system. Notable changes are the implementation of the electronic health record (EHR). Digitization in the healthcare system is evident, and many practitioners have noted with the era of advancing technology, many prefer to use paperless information as opposed to dealing with piles of documents.

Over the last 20 years dramatic changes have occurred in the health care industry. “Health care technology has exploded over the last 20 years, not just in the arena of medical diagnosis and treatment, but also in the area of health information and documentation” (The art of patient care, 2008, p. 1).

Information and communication technology has been adopted and implemented within various sectors of the economy. This is attributed to the benefits of technology in facilitating organizational activities and processes and its use in meeting the changes which characterize the modern society. The health sector is one of the industries which have significantly implemented technology. The health sector’s technological applications have been achieved within health information systems. The implementation of technology in this sector has resulted into both positive and negative implications on health

Not that long ago, doctors and nurses would write notes in a patient's chart — often a sheaf of papers fastened to a clipboard during an office visit, until the digital age, there was no other way to store a patient's medical record, but today, more and more patients can expect to see computers instead of clipboards when they hop onto the exam-room table, thanks to the adoption of health information technology (HIT) which means a large number of advantages to improve health care quality or effectiveness, such as: Increase health care productivity or efficiency; prevent medical errors and increase health care accuracy and procedural correctness;

It is important to understand that patients are very satisfied with electronic health systems. For example, patients see a vast improvement in the speed at which they are being seen when they go their doctors’ office. Patients no longer have to wait on their physicians for hours due to the fact that their information can be readily available to their physicians when they come to see them. Moreover, all their information is transparent to their health care provider since all their data is in electronic form.

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