Health Technologies and Patient Care Information

Associate Level Material

Health Technology

Health Technologies and Patient Care Information

Everyone who has used a cell phone, computer, or television knows how message sending and delivery have changed over the years. These changes come so rapidly that, within a year, equipment becomes obsolete. Those in the medical field, in their quest to provide the best patient care while controlling costs, have contemplated using specific electronic technologies. Now, in the 21st century, changes are being made that can further improve patient–caregiver relations.

Exploring the Need

Ideas such as electronic medical records (EMRs), the use of the telephone to deliver patient care (telemedicine), and video consultations are in the process of being integrated in the United States and in developing countries. With the help of federal legislation, grants, and data that support their value, the proliferation of these systems is growing. Financial grants to home health agencies and not-for-profit health care groups come not only from the federal government but also from other nonprofit agencies, such as home care advocates and equipment companies. What is important to health care administration and caregivers is a general idea of the use and efficacy of these technologies, so when the opportunity arises to bring them to an office or facility, information can be analyzed and an educated decision can be made to use them. Thus, external stakeholders in medical facilities in surrounding areas can be the catalyst that makes electronic medicine happen.

Electronic Medical Records

EMRs are a conversion of paper medical records to electronic-based medical records. EMRs are an accurate and positive way for health care personnel to communicate information with one another without losing any of the credibility of that information. Patient information can follow patients wherever they go: by computer, CD-ROM, or DVD. Physicians, pharmacists, and other caregivers have access to these records, making it much easier to fill a prescription. Illegible handwriting on paper-based records and documents accounts for nearly 100,000 deaths per year in the United States (Foreman, 2006, p. 1). Although the concept of the EMR has been around for nearly 20 years, in 2006 only 24% of health care providers were using them because of the cost of initiating the systems and training users.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine allows caregivers to treat patients who are at home or at an alternate facility. This is most useful in rural areas in the United States and in developing countries. Telemedicine is especially advantageous for HMOs, because patients can keep their physician despite a move, and specialists and primary care doctors can confer over the telephone. The Health Care Administration testifies that physician referrals have dropped nationwide because of the ability to remain with a doctor through telemedicine. Some potentially problematic areas of telemedicine, though, include the following:

·  Medical reimbursement for telephone medicine

·  Improvement of image processing and display performance

·  Standardizing medical information

·  Protection of privacy

·  Organization of diagnosis support systems

Videophone

Some medical facilities use a videophone for patient consultations. These are initiated by telephone, and when both parties are positioned, the video camera is turned on. The machine has a blood pressure cuff, monitor, scale, and a pulse oximeter machine for wellness checks. An alternate to the videophone is an Internet-based machine that can conduct a patient visit. It will remind the patient of the appointment time, and after the patient checks in, the machine will ask the appropriate questions. There is not a person on the other end of the phone, but it has been noted that this machine often finds impending cardiac events and gets the patient to the hospital in time.

Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the creation of a pilot program to assist public and nonprofit health care providers in building state and regional broadband networks. These networks are dedicated to provisioning health care services and will connect them to the dedicated nationwide backbone of Internet 2—a new federal pilot program that includes delivery of health care information to providers. The program is being paid for by the Universal Service Fund, and construction of the networks will bring benefits of advanced telehealth and telemedicine services to the nation’s rural areas. Patients will have access to medical specialists not available in their areas, such as cardiologists. They will be able to access these services without leaving their communities. Use of these technologies can reduce medical costs and facilitate the transmission of medical information among doctors and health care facilities. Delivering telehealth services, including telemedicine applications, has the potential to revolutionize the current health care system throughout the nation (Telecommunication Reports, 2006).

The Future of Health Technology

The advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the leadership of the federal government to provide economic stimulus and incentives, and the interests of medical companies throughout the world have started the process of getting technologies in health under way. Currently, there are still diverse standards, equipment, and software that are not compatible, but the process has begun. Fifty percent of the nation’s health care is nonprofit, and without government intervention, these facilities will not be able to convert to the new technologically advanced system. Caregivers in the 21st century are poised to initiate new standards of patient care, to economize the health care system, and to ensure patient safety and effective treatment.

References

Foreman, J. (2006, June 12). Privacy issues loom in push for electronic medical records. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://boston.com/

Telecommunication Reports. (2006, October 1). FCC launches pilot program on rural health-care needs. Telecommunication Reports, 72(19), 26. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.