...The Role of Technology in Rising Health Care Costs. What should or shouldn’t be done. Neha Para, MPH Student 5453-001 US Health Care System University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center December 8, 2010 Abstract Health care costs are a longstanding concern to policymakers. For years, health care spending has been rising faster than the rate of economic growth, raising the question of what factors are responsible for rising health care costs. This paper explores published articles that report results from research conducted on technological innovations in health care and its relation to rising health care costs. The cost increases have a significant effect on households, businesses, and government programs. Health care experts indicates the development and diffusion of medical technology as primary factors in explaining the persistent difference between health spending and overall economic growth, with some arguing that new medical technology may account for about one-half or more of real long-term spending growth. Rising health care expenditures lead to the question of whether we are getting value for the money we spend. On an average, increases in medical spending as a result of advances in medical care have provided reasonable value. An alternative viewpoint holds that although new technologies represent medical advances, they are prone to overuse and thereby excess cost. Most of the suggestions to slow the growth in new medical technology in the U.S. focus on...
Words: 5135 - Pages: 21
...Advance Health Informatics Health Informatics is the acquisition, management, and use of information in health. Health Informatics enhances the quality and efficiency of medical care. Health care is essential to the progress and development of the world. Professionals such as biomedical engineers, doctors, and medical insurers use health informatics systems to collect, process and share information about diseases, patient records, and new medical systems. Advances in technology have made it such a necessity to keep up with most recent record systems to enable seamless sharing of information between organizations. Although, in poorer countries where modern informatics health systems are not readily available, sharing of new technologies within organizations can prove difficult. Larger populations live in poorer regions and more health problems are face in these regions and are extremely difficult to solve because of the imbalance of technologies around the world. Even in our society, which is considered relatively more advanced, than the less developed regions of the world, advance health informatics systems are somewhat difficult to come by because of the cost of procuring such systems and making it readily available to the general population. Another challenge present is the competitive nature of research and development. Researchers are always inventing new information systems and technologies that may not be compatible with each other. In their quest to outdo one another...
Words: 487 - Pages: 2
...Health Information Technology Keller Graduate School of Management Health Service Management HSM 541 August 7, 2014 Professor Bonnett Health Information Technology is leading the way to better Medical Care, medicine has come a long way in the past few decades. Today’s medical workers have some of the most technological tools at their disposals. The latest high tech equipment, modern pharmaceuticals and procedures but in many cases the most important tool that is needed is information and quite often needed right now. Correct and up to the minute information about a patients history is a vital part of treatment. And yet for many, access to this most important vital tool still lingers in the dark ages. In the not so distant past and for the most part medical information is still in paper form and can be found scattered around filing systems in different offices, subject to retrieval by hand and be limited to delivery by phone or fax. Currently with advances in communication technology and information security there is a better way to store, access and transfer patients information, better, faster, safer. Health Information Technology is the movement of medial information electronically around all platforms of communication, but most utilization of HIT is computer based networks, via internet hospitals sharing information externally and intranet networks, hospitals transferring patient information within the hospital electronically. What does health...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
...complicated life would be without technology? A lot more convenient and lets not forget cost effective that we now cant imagine living without it. It makes our lives easier and more relaxed. Technology is helping the world interact and grow at a tremendous rate. Today technology is being used in ways that were not imaginable a while back. We see so many causes and effect from technology and its changes every day in how communicate, learn, and it surprisingly affects healthcare. Technology is now being used to make advances in the field of medicine, fine better ways to produce clean energy, and is trying to become more cost effective in many areas. Technology is something we use every single day. The problem doctors and pa’s face now is a broken medical system and stiff insurance companies. They have managed to work through these difficult times with exceptional patient care. As biomedical research continues to improve these techniques, doctors will be better at facing these health problems in a more cost effective way. The three main changes that are restructuring the medical field are electronic medical records, population science and clinical guidelines. An example would be the hard hitting fact that doctors are benefiting remarkably from medical records. With one simple and easy touch of a button doctors can access all the care a patient has ever received the problems a patient has ever had and can figure out if they have a possible illnesses. Technology affects our lives in a major...
Words: 370 - Pages: 2
...Title: Medical Ethics: History and Guiding Principles Author: Alan J. McGoldrick Course: Medicine, Disease and History Instructor: Professor Foss Date: June 15, 2012 Medical ethics are the moral guidelines and ethical laws that help to prioritize a medical professional's work responsibilities. The code of medical ethics outlines the proper conduct between medical professionals and their patients, communities, and colleagues. Each country has a different code of medical ethics, though most contain the same basic principles, and all share the same history of evolution, according to the World Medical Association. Medical ethics refers to the discussion and application of moral values and responsibilities in the areas of medical practice and research. While questions of medical ethics have been debated since the beginnings of Western medicine in the fifth century B.C., medical ethics as a distinctive field came into prominence only since World War II. (Porter, 1998) This change has come about largely as a result of advances in medical technology, scientific research, and telecommunications. These developments have affected nearly every aspect of clinical practice, from the confidentiality of patient records to end-of-life issues. Moreover, the increased involvement of government in medical research as well as the allocation of health care resources brings with it an additional set of ethical questions. Emerging Medical Ethics Through the Ages Ancient Medical Texts ...
Words: 1879 - Pages: 8
...Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine The impact of medical technology on healthcare today LTH Tan and KL Ong Introduction Rapidly changing medical technology and availability of high technology diagnostic and therapeutic equipment together with changing practice pattern of doctors has revolutionized the way health care is being delivered today. Without doubt, medical technology is indispensable for people's health and better quality of life in some areas; and contributes billions of dollars to the economy. Some would go so far to say that the practice of medicine these days is inherently dependent upon health technology. This is probably based on the observations that clinicians use a wide variety of technologies in diagnosing, treating and assessing the care of their patients. Today's medical technology is more advanced, more effective, and in many cases, more costly than ever before. Furthermore there is an ever increasing demand for high technology diagnostic and therapeutic health care facilities and their availability may come into conflict with medical necessity, social justice and cost effectiveness. There is increasing pressure on health care resources that is driving more explicit and public decisions regarding the best use of these resources. The complexity of modern technology and its high marginal cost suggest to us that testimonial reviews of new technologies are no longer sufficient.1 Current trends in health care decision making favour a transition...
Words: 3954 - Pages: 16
...The Advancement of Technology in the Medical Field Technology in general has greatly improved in the last 50 or 60 years, but especially in the medical field. A lot of what drives the medical field today is computers. Computers have gone from being the size of a small room to being able to fit in the palm of your hand. The first computer was actually a calculator. With the advancements in being able to reduce the size of the integrated circuit or IC chips, also known today as microchips, they have gone from being able to fit a couple transistors on a chip to being able to implement billions of transistors on a single chip about the size of $.50 piece. With this we have really been able to advance the technology in the medical field. We have also been able to improve microscopes to be able to better see inside cells and to identify the different bacteria and viruses that infect humans and other plants and animals. Being able to better identify what is causing an illness, treatment can be greatly improved. Today there are cameras the size of a pill that you can swallow and a computer outside the body records it for the doctor to review. This makes it more appealing to the patients since it is less invasive. Technology in the medical field has come a long way in the past century. We have went from tonics that some Dr. and concocted in his office to being able to perform the major transplants that we can today. 50 years ago people would've never thought that a doctor would be able...
Words: 734 - Pages: 3
...society. Generally speaking, the Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA) in most hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and HMO’s routinely provide information on advance directives at the time of admission. They are required to do this by federal law. The PSDA simply requires that most health care institutions do the following: give you at the time of admission a written summary of your health care decisions-making rights, the facility’s policies with respect to recognizing advance directives, and ask you if you have an advance directive, and document that fact in your medication record. On the contrary, many physicians were not in favor of a policy for patient self determination because they felt that this would decrease their authority regarding medicine, interfere with the patient-physician relationship, and be one more legal regulation (General Accounting Office (GAO) Letter Report, 1995). However, the American Medical Association supported the policy. Some hospitals were concerned about the execution of the policy as they believed that it was appropriate to give medical advice but not legal advice. Although most maintstream religions do not feel that withdrawing life support is in opposition to their beliefs, there were concerns about appropriate stopping points. First of all, the current medical practice in the United...
Words: 885 - Pages: 4
... DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGY Description of Technology How will the proposed enhancements better serve your population or providers? Telemedicine in our office will be most helpful for many of our senior residents who existing in neighborhoods and distance areas and is presently being a little problematic to schedule an appointment and attempt to the office. In these particular cases we will monitor a patient at home using known devices like blood pressure monitors and transferring the information to a provider is a fast growing emerging service. In my office, we have only one provider by deficiency of professionals and on-call physicians. With the telemedicine are driving the advance of the release of healthcare. The diffusion of medical material through electronic transmission, aid to enhance quality, efficiency of patient comfort, and care. With the use of interaction equipment to connect healthcare practitioners and patients in different locations, will likely help to achieve many of the healthcare reform goals including: growing cost efficiency; rising patient access to specialists and, enhancing interaction among providers. What will you do to guard against rapid obsolescence? Current’s office technologies can modify quickly; you can improvement your equipment anytime by changing your lease. The benefits of lease and financing are support to protect product obsolescence, and gives ability to take benefit of the newest product technology. Organization...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...three decades. One of these factors is the introduction and rapidly increasing enrollment in managed health care insurance plans. Managed care health insurance plans can, in most cases, help to alleviate the rising costs of effective medical coverage. Another important factor that has affected health care costs is the invention and implementation of new medical technologies. As prominent researchers and economic analysts have discovered, there is a distinct and direct correlat! ion between advancing medical technologies and rising health care costs. Medical innovation has been proven time and again to be an important determinant of health care cost growth. It would appear that managed care health insurance plans, which attempt to lower health care costs, and highly expensive new medical innovations and procedures are at cross purposes, pulling against one another in very different directions. Market-level comparisons have found the cost growth of health care in markets with greater managed care penetration to be generally slower than that of non-managed care health insurance markets. However, managed care is unlikely to prevent the share of gross domestic product spent on health care from rising unless the cost-increasing nature of new medical technologies changes. Managed care health insurance plans differ greatly...
Words: 2562 - Pages: 11
...DeVry | HSM320 A.RETA Application Paper Advance Directives- Kevin Bean | Devry University- Andrea Reta, Prof. | | Kevin Bean | 12/15/2014 | This paper concerns the ethical basis for advance directives, or “Living Wills”; the value of these advance directives to the patients, their families; and the authorities that these advance directives give the above mentioned interested parties. | Contents Application Paper on Advance Directives 3 Abstract of Application Paper 3 Advance Health Care Directives 3 The Natural Death Acts 3 Legal Precedents for Advance Directives 3 Advance Health Care Directives: 4 California’s Advance Directive Law 4 The Natural Death Acts 5 Inception and Legal Basis 5 Current situation of N.D.A.s 5 Value of Advance Directives to Patient, Family, and Caregiver 6 Value to Author or Patient 6 Health Care Facility 6 Are Advance Directives Really Effective? 7 Living Will Example 8 References 13 Application Paper on Advance Directives Abstract of Application Paper This paper will examine the short history of Advance Directives in California, the other states that have added A.D.s, and what the legal basis and historical basis for these acts are. Previous to the Advance Directives, very similar laws are Natural Death Acts. In this report I will review some of the similarities, and differences between the A.D.s and the N.D.A.s. In the 1970s, with the modernization of health care facilities, some patients, especially...
Words: 2484 - Pages: 10
...2013 The cost of receiving treatment- cost effectiveness Hard-core diseases have proved to be hell for most people because of the high costs of treatment. In a country like the U.S. that is a world leader in advanced medical care, a significant proportion of its total gross domestic product (GDP) is used to fund health care. A lot of money is used in treating some of these diseases and there is no guarantee that the disease will be totally suppressed. The private sector spends more on health care and the government provides funds in enhancing the health sector. The aspect of spending more in health than in food triggers massive debate. The U.S. sees exorbitant spending on health care is an indicator of growth. Why not invest more in the food industry and spend more on the most nutritious diets? With this, you not only prevent many diseases but also improve the life span of many people. Most of the Americans are middle-class and always find it hard to access the health facilities due to the high costs. This is illogical because the government can pump a lot of cash in agriculture by purchasing the best farming equipment and putting aside funds for intensive research on the various types of nutritional foods. What we are seeing is a case of misplaced priorities where the government is trying to spend more on non-essentials in the name of providing quality health care. Why not subsidize these costs and invest more in the nutritional value to keep people healthy...
Words: 1333 - Pages: 6
...Negative: Is Animal Testing Necessary For Medical Research? Conducting medical research on animals is not necessary in advancing medical technologies. It is argued that animal testing is absolutely essential for medical research, and that it provides us with many medical benefits. There have been many medical breakthroughs that have been discovered through animal testing. Some of these include, blood transfusions, insulin, anesthetics and many other lie saving discoveries (Ten). Although, it may be true that animal testing has provided many medical benefits, this does not make it essential for medical research. Animal testing is entirely inefficient and animals are not suitable models for the human body. Helen Marston, Chief Executive Officer of Humane Research Australia Inc., explains nine out of ten drugs that are proven successful in animals fail once they make it to human trials (Marston 2). The discoveries that have been made do not...
Words: 578 - Pages: 3
...The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks details how one woman’s immortal cells brought forth a medical revolution, with advances in medical technology and the development of a polio vaccine. Years earlier, the Industrial Revolution generated a wave of major breaks in biomedical engineering and the surgical field, with the invention of x-rays, anesthetics, and antiseptics (Local Histories). In a time rich with major breakthroughs in science, one may wonder at what cost have these developments revolutionized modern medicine? And at what point do we cease to advance our knowledge in the medical field for the sake of science and helping others, and instead let greed and money motivate scientific pursuits?...
Words: 994 - Pages: 4
...despite advances in technology and the evolution of education. Doctors spend years studying the human body, diseases and other illness but seem to take one step forward and three steps back as diseases conform. Infections become resistant to antibiotics, cancers spread at rapid rates, and auto immune disorders slowly attack the body as it slowly kills itself. Among these complex diseases is a disease known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a very rare condition that causes a person’s own immune system to rapidly deteriorate nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. According to the Center for Communicable diseases an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS...
Words: 799 - Pages: 4
