Technology in the Healthcare Industry and Its Impact
I. Technology in the healthcare industry today and its impact
The state of technology in the healthcare industry is that it is developing very rapidly. 10 or 20 years ago, you wouldn’t be able to find very many computers or technology at a typical doctor’s office. Most of the stuff was done with analog equipment and manual paperwork. Now, if you go into a doctor’s office, you will find it laden with advanced technical equipment and computer technology. You may not even find a pen or pad on the doctor’s desk! Technology has the ability to change the face of the whole healthcare delivery system and improve the quality of health and healthcare. Although there are many challenges that it represents, overcoming these challenges will lead to a more effective and better quality healthcare system in general.
First of all, the use of technology in managing the healthcare system is currently in the stages of being implemented to a great extent. There is a big push to standardize medical records, for example, in an electronic format. The government is currently offering incentives for those who convert over to and put in use some form of electronic medical records system (Versel, 2011). They are also putting into place penalties for those who do not by 2015 (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2011). In terms of the actual impact on the healthcare system, this shift to electronic records will not only reduce our premiums for insurance, but also streamline and speed up healthcare delivery twofold. It also cuts administrative costs for healthcare organizations and increases space, as they will no longer have to store bulky files or paperwork. They can replace all of that with digital records.
In the long term, this transition to digital records will benefit everyone involved in the healthcare industry; however, in the short term there will be increased costs for all of us. The reason why is because there will be associated costs in developing and buying the
The state of technology in the healthcare industry is that it is developing very rapidly. 10 or 20 years ago, you wouldn’t be able to find very many computers or technology at a typical doctor’s office. Most of the stuff was done with analog equipment and manual paperwork. Now, if you go into a doctor’s office, you will find it laden with advanced technical equipment and computer technology. You may not even find a pen or pad on the doctor’s desk! Technology has the ability to change the face of the whole healthcare delivery system and improve the quality of health and healthcare. Although there are many challenges that it represents, overcoming these challenges will lead to a more effective and better quality healthcare system in general.
First of all, the use of technology in managing the healthcare system is currently in the stages of being implemented to a great extent. There is a big push to standardize medical records, for example, in an electronic format. The government is currently offering incentives for those who convert over to and put in use some form of electronic medical records system (Versel, 2011). They are also putting into place penalties for those who do not by 2015 (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2011). In terms of the actual impact on the healthcare system, this shift to electronic records will not only reduce our premiums for insurance, but also streamline and speed up healthcare delivery twofold. It also cuts administrative costs for healthcare organizations and increases space, as they will no longer have to store bulky files or paperwork. They can replace all of that with digital records.
In the long term, this transition to digital records will benefit everyone involved in the healthcare industry; however, in the short term there will be increased costs for all of us. The reason why is because there will be associated costs in developing and buying the
Cited: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2011, April 20). CMS EHR Meaningful Use Overview. Retrieved June 6, 2011, from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Web Page: https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/30_Meaningful_Use.asp Versel, N. (2011, May 31). Physicians Get Meaningful Use Payment Checks. Retrieved June 6, 2011, from InformationWeek Healthcare: http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/EMR/229700213 Feder, B. J. (2008, May 4). Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery. New York Times . Grote, K. D., Newman, J. R., & Sutaria, S. S. (2007, November). A Better Hospital Experience. The McKinsey Quarterly , 1-10. ICON. (2011, May 1). Technology in Clinical Trials. Retrieved June 20, 2011, from Kris Gustafson: http://krisagustafson.com/gpage1.html