Comparing Hickey's Medical Technology And Ethical Issues

The article “Medical Technology and Ethical Issues” by William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey discusses the use of some technology in the medical field. Throughout this passage the authors’ goal is to inform the reader about how programs like RIP can be a benefit medical situations and employees. In the beginning of the article the authors create an urgent, worried tone by describing the scene of a patient arriving to the hospital in an ambulance; this shows the importance of situations like this, which is why the authors describe the quick results of some medical technologies as a positive. After describing the scene the authors use mostly a flat tone to describe the impact of these programs. The RIP program and many others have created a large debate on whether or not they should be used. Personally, I believe that these technologies should not be used in severe situations. While I do agree that it is important to have quick
results in a situation like this, these machines rely on data that is inputted by nurses and doctors. If the information is written, it creates a chance for someone to notice a possible mistake, since there is human error. Also, computer systems are not failsafe, so that creates a possibility for that program to glitch or even crash. Computers also do not have any emotion and are not able to actually see the patient and the situation, which is a disadvantage in my opinion because some people are strong willed, have tough bodies and are able to survive. I ultimately think that while these programs can be helpful, they should not make the final decision on whether or not a patient can be saved. The authors seem to be claiming the medical systems like RIP can be helpful to doctors in many cases.
Throughout the article the authors stay focused on their topic which makes the purpose and claim of the passage clear. Another strength that this piece has is the writers’ show all view points of the argument and explain some positives and negatives about the program. Before this though, the authors attempt to explain the RIP and how the computer program is used, but they did not cover a lot of information on them like: what RIP stands for and where the program gets its results from. This article also uses a lot of emotional appeal. The writers begin by getting the reader worked up about an emergency situation by describing a scene. They also use emotional appeal when explaining a reason why this program is helpful. The authors describe that it is rough to decide when to stop saving a patient and either pull the plug or talk to the family members about that decision, so it having these programs would be helpful in those
situations. In conclusion, the article “Medical Technology and Ethical Issues” by William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey explains why medical programs can be a benefit to certain situations and why they should be considered to be in placed in more medical facilities. The authors explain how this technology can help in a decision making process in this field, and the authors even addressed the fact that others may be worried that patients’ lives are being placed in the hands of computers. In today’s world, technology has become very important, so this issue may become larger if computers begin to take on even more aspects of people’s lives.