Mobile Computing and Social Networking’s Influence on the Medical Services

Beverley Stephens
Dr. Robert E. Culver
CIS 500- information Systems for Decision Making
August 14, 2012

Introduction
There have been a lot of changes in the health industry due to technological advancement in the areas of wireless networks. This advancement has allowed care givers to use devices such as personal cellular devices, pervasive sensing technologies, and social networks, to deliver health care from providers to clients. There are certain effects of using mobile technology blood pressure monitoring, checking glucose level, oxygen level and heart rate, etc.

Monitoring Patient Vital Signs via Mobile Computing Versus In-Patient Visits

Vital signs are key indicators of a patient overall health status. We are at a point in time where temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, oxygen levels, and respiratory rates can now be taken via mobile technology. There was a time when patients had to travel to the doctor’s office or other health care facilities in order to have these vital tests done. It was also the norm to have a health care provider doing these tests in person and writing down the results. These results were input into a chart or a computer system by the provider who took them. Sometimes it was documented right away or hours later when time allow. Mistakes were also a factor because the health care provider input the wrong information and this sometimes impacted the patience in a negative way.
With the introduction of technology in health care, patient stats can be a lot more accurate and yield a better outcome. The use of smart phones and wireless technology devices has allowed patients to monitor vital signs and upload this information to their health care provider’s information systems. Patience is also able to do videoconferencing using