This essay is related to the discussion regarding the different trends in the health care system in the recent times. This discussion is mainly focused on the impact of technology on the health care delivery system. The advancement of technology has a huge impact on the health industry. The healthcare industry is one of the world’s largest industry. This industry is hugely affected by the technological transformation. Digital healthcare has become an integral part of the lives of people in today’s generation. The use of technology essentially reduces the time a person spends in the hospitals (Geisler & Heller, 2012).
Technology has improved the performance of healthcare in hospitals and it has proved to be cost efficient. Value-based healthcare has become an integral part of the system of the hospitals. The system has become more transparent and appreciation in the form of incentives are given to the doctors to keep their patients healthy. Another change that technology brings in the hospitals is maintaining Electronic Health Records or EHR. This process helps to maintain the medical records and history of treatment of the patients in an efficient manner. Further, technology has brought another major change in hospitals which is the use of robotic surgery. Telemedicine solutions are used to reach out to the patients in remote areas.
The advancement of technology has brought changes in the doctor’s chamber as well. The use EHR helps in improving communication of the doctor with other doctors and hospitals. Medical devices and facilities are becoming more portable and affordable at the same time. Real time monitoring has also become important. Telemedicine is an important change brought in by the use of technology. Patients in remote areas can be monitored easily by the doctors and due to this patients need to spend less time in the doctor’s chamber. The process is further integrated to enable communication between the patients and the hospital as when required. Due to this, re-hospitalization is avoided and hence healthcare is made affordable (Buijink, Visser & Marshall, 2013).
The system of healthcare is gradually shifting from the traditional methods to the new technologically advanced methods. The ownership of the healthcare needs are totally with the patients. Changes in technology is promoting the adoption of mobile and wearable health devices, which in turn promote remote and virtual healthcare. Consumer electronic products and healthcare devices have come into play. To add to this trend, smartphones are provided with different applications which include activity trackers, sports apps and many other features. The patients can now keep a track of their health issues in a personalized manner (West, 2012).
Technological changes however have to face some challenges as well. As the use of technology increases in the health sector, cybersecurity is a huge challenge. The safe maintenance of the data of the patients is important in this case. The regulators are therefore imposing many standards on the medical developers, so that the safety of the data and the patient can be ensured. The process of replacing the traditional methods with the new technologically advanced methods is also expensive. The system needs to stay competitive with the changes in the technologies and fast-evolving digital environment. The cost to comply with the new rules and regulations in the healthcare is high (Block & Keller, 2015).
On the basis of the above discussion it can be said that technology brings a lot of changes in the healthcare delivery system. The changes are progressive and helpful for the patients as well as for the doctors and hospitals. On the other hand, the implementation of these new ways can be expensive. Therefore, the regulators are performing extensive research to implement these ways in the most cost effective manner.
References:
Block, F. L., & Keller, M. R. (2015). State of innovation: the US government's role in technology development. Routledge.
Buijink, A. W., Visser, B. J., & Marshall, L. (2013). Medical apps for smartphones: lack of evidence undermines quality and safety. Evid Based Med, 18(3), 90-92.
Geisler, E., & Heller, O. (Eds.). (2012). Managing technology in healthcare (Vol. 1). Springer Science & Business Media.
West, D. (2012). How mobile devices are transforming healthcare. Issues in technology innovation, 18(1), 1-11.
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