Medical Technology
Medical technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and, in one form or another, is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies (applications of medical science) are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered and patient outcomes through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and reductions in hospital stays and rehabilitation times.
Medical technology extends and improves life. It alleviates pain, injury and handicap. Its role in healthcare is essential. Incessant medical technology innovation enhances the quality and effectiveness of care. Billions of patients worldwide depend on medical technology at home, at the doctor’s, at hospital and in nursing homes. Wheelchairs, pacemakers, orthopedic shoes, spectacles and contact lenses, insulin pens, hip prostheses, condoms, oxygen masks, dental floss, MRI scanners, pregnancy tests, surgical instruments, bandages, syringes, life-support machines: more than 500,000 products (10,000 generic groups) are available today. Medical technology represents only 6.3% of total healthcare expenditure in Europe - a modest share if you consider the benefits for every member of society.
The term medical technology may also refer to the duties performed by clinical laboratory professionals in various settings within the public and private sectors. The work of these professionals encompasses clinical applications of chemistry, genetics, hematology, immunohematology (blood banking), immunology, microbiology, serology, urinalysis and miscellaneous body fluid analysis. These professionals may be referred to as Medical Technologists (MT) and Medical Laboratory Techs.
Healthcare Information Technology
Health information technology (HIT) provides the umbrella framework to describe the comprehensive management of health information and its secure exchange between consumers, providers, government and quality entities, and insurers. Health information technology (HIT) is in general increasingly viewed as the most promising tool for improving the overall quality, safety and efficiency of the health delivery system.
Broad and consistent utilization of HIT will:
•Improve health care quality;
•Prevent medical errors;
•Reduce health care costs;
•Increase administrative efficiencies
•Decrease paperwork; and
•Expand access to affordable care.
Health information technology (HIT) is “the application of information processing involving both computer hardware and software that deals with the storage, retrieval, sharing, and use of health care information, data, and knowledge for communication and decision making”. Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. For HIT, technology represents computers and communications attributes that can be networked to build systems for moving health information. Informatics is yet another integral aspect of HIT.
Technology in Healthcare
Technology in Healthcare is going to shape the health delivery process globally. Technology in Healthcare can start as simply as taking a phone call to a doctor, up to building a seamlessly integrated healthcare workflow. On the one hand, IT functions as an enabler in delivering faster and more accurate medical information to end users and at the same time reducing the manual labor-intensive process. Technology will probably never be able to replace a doctor’s judgment or a nurse’s touch. But it can help tip the balance by improving workflow and making manual and routine tasks more efficient. The automation of tasks such as temperature taking will free up time for other nursing tasks. Also, with a rapid decrease in hardware size and increase in mobility and connectivity, doctors will always be in the know.
Technology will increasingly be deployed right next to clinical care and the patient in a number of ways. Using biometrics, RFID, and barcode to establish patient identity before treatment administration. Bedside clinical information displays to keep patients engaged in their own care. Computer navigation via integration of a multitude of medical imaging datasets through the real-time display of anatomy during surgery. This will be taken further via telemedicine, head up displays and hepatics feedback technologies. Knowledge bases will increasingly be deployed to bring about best evidence healthcare. Evidence-based driven guidelines will bring about rule-based diagnosis and treatment. Algorithm-driven diagnosis is already well tried and tested and will be implemented in EMR to bring about cost-effective diagnosis and increasingly, the same will apply to the treatment of chronic diseases.
With the increasing use of electronic medical records, there are many advantages to their use in patient care. When looking at electronic medical records and patient safety, using this technology can reduce the amount of medication errors and better organize patient information. The use of remote health monitoring through telemedicine has changed the way in which health care professionals are able to provide care to people living in rural locations. The professional will use a variety of telemedicine remote monitoring tools to monitor the person's health.
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