Shifts in Our Health Care System

Shift in healthcare systems

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Shifts in Our Health Care System

The healthcare system has evolved in various ways over the past few years, all in the aim to improve the services provided to consumers. The use of technology has been the most recent shift that has greatly impacted healthcare. There has been introduction of biometric devices that can be worn which provide relevant information which helps patients to monitor their health. The use of telemedicine apps has helped patients to easily access healthcare despite their location. Technology has improved from the simple equipment such as adhesive bandages to MRI machines or organs that are artificial. Through the innovations that come up daily, practitioners come up with ways to improve their service delivery since they can diagnose patients better, when it comes to surgery it is more efficient and the care for patients has improved.

Initially, records in the facilities were recorded and stored manually but with technology the raw data is keyed in and the retrieving information is easier thus improving quality service. Through telecommunication patients are interconnected with doctors and hospitals from different locations, this has encouraged private practices and patients prefer this shift since they can access doctors from the comfort of their homes and this has helped save time and money which would have been spent travelling to see the doctor especially is they need the services of a specialist who is far away. Information is also readily available be it researched information about a certain illness and information about drugs is also readily available.

Scanning equipment is also more comfortable, patients are monitored better, robots have also been introduced to be used for surgery such that the doctor doesn’t necessarily have to be there thus reducing the hassle of traveling for health purposes. Research is now conducted more easily by practitioners, with the aim of preventing, diagnosing as well as curing of diseases. In addition, research is also helping develop new drugs which will help prevent or treat the current illnesses. The facilities will also be in a position to predict illnesses that may affect people in the near future, analyze the cost it will take to treat these illnesses.

In conclusion, I believe that technology is here for our own good. It has made information systems in healthcare facilities more efficient, it has helped practitioners to carry out their work more efficiently, new innovations are making it easier to curb illnesses as well as predict trends in illnesses in certain states or regions and it has improved the overall delivery of quality services. It has helped shift the focus on just treatment of patients but also on improving the well-being of consumers through availability of information, consultations services on improving lifestyles to being healthy as well as using wearable technology to monitor our general health.

Reference

Bainbridge, W. S. (2013). Converging technologies for improving human performance: Nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technologies and cognitive science. Springer Science & Business Media .

Boules, K. D. (2015). The use of health information technology to improve care and outcomes for older adults. 5-10.

Statistics, N. C. (2017). Health,United States ,2016,withchartbook on long-term in health . Government Printing Office.