Technology and Health Care
Introduction
Healthcare information technology and systems are transforming and changing the health care industry. Surveys have shown that healthcare information technology involves crunching data in order to offer better treatment and diagnoses, assisting health care practitioners communicate with the patients effectively, linking medical practitioners with other medical practitioners, connecting medical practitioners with the patients and assisting patients to gather relevant information that is critical for staying healthy (HRSA, 2010).
Main body
Emergency workers based in California’s Marin County have embarked on QR codes technology in emergency situations, particularly in saving human lives. Lifesqure is the partner organization in the program. Lifesqure has requested the residents to visit its website and insert their personal medical information, and at the same time align the information with QR codes, which are accessible to the emergency workers. The QR code stickers can be accessed at the local pharmacies. ID Amber is another organization with printed Security Code readily available to the emergency responders. ScanMedQR.com has QR codes on necklaces, bracelets and wallets accustomed to deliver quick medical information as pertaining to the health records (Payer, 2006).
Most of the people in the neighborhoods are old people, and they are aware of the medical pilot study. Old people in the society are skeptical and not trusting the developments brought by the technology basing on a number of reasons. Hospitals must be competitive in the twenty first century in meeting the needs of the target market. Technologies have eased the competition by providing imaging services and offering electronic health records. Technology is designed based on patient safety, financial management and adhering to the regulatory factors. Modernity in the health care centers is accompanied by the ability of the institutions to embrace change.
Health care technology and the information systems are engaged with the main intention of improving the overall patient outcomes, lowering the medical costs and streamlining the operations. Mobile technology is among the recent medical inventions where smart phones are put into task (Howell, 2006). Quick Response (QR) and Smart scanning codes are changing the medical practices through enhancing timely response. It has been noted that QR codes are armed with web addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which then connects persons scanning the code.
The information is relayed to the target destination through the application of a smart phone, software and special application, tablet scanner environment and a hyperlink reader. The web has the tool ready where the persons in need of the information could access the applications. There are a number of smart phones with the application ready.
QR codes are useful in the twenty first century, it has been noted that patients connects to the relevant medical websites through the QR codes where videos among information are available (Payer, 2006). Further surveys have shown that QR codes enables the patients and the medical practitioners access Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and by the fact that QR codes connects the patients with the medical practitioners.
The major challenges as pertaining to the QR codes are on the patient privacy and issue of medical ethics, in that the medical institutions must ensure that the systems have relevant security measures in making sure that breaches of information is unheard off. Leaked medical information poses significant challenges and harm to the reputation of the hospitals and also to the privacy of the patients (HRSA, 2010).
The costs of employing the technology will be very high in the medical institutions, in that the network of computers requires highly skilled laborers, in tracking the billing system and delivery of the medical information. Electronic record keeping require updated electronic units. The security of the information is compromised; internet opens the closed network systems in the medical facilities to the external attacks and influences (Reiser, 2001). Issues of medical record security and patient privacy are compromised. Application of the internet services renders the medical services lack standardization, in that communicating with different hospitals will present a challenge. It has been noted that emergency codes in different hospitals may have a different meaning in other hospitals.
Recommendations
Considering that the immediate population under the study is composed of the elderly people in the society, internet may not be beneficial as compared to the younger generation, considering that the elderly population is resistant to the changes (Reiser, 2001). It is important for the pilot study organizers to actively engage the elderly population in accepting the changes brought around by internet and smart gadgets in the medical care. QR codes have diverse merits as compared to the drawbacks. The elderly population will be convinced that the organization will apply security measures in protecting the medical information.
Conclusion
Omnipresent of the tablets, smart phones and applications has facilitated the efficiency of the QR codes, contributing significantly to the cultural and social shifts as pertaining the hospital setting. Physicians and clinicians through the gadgets have managed to acquire massive information in real time (Reiser, 2001). It is argued that the gadgets has enabled the medical practitioners interact with the patients, institutions and among the health practitioners. Internet has led to diverse revolution in the medical practice, to the best, adding a competitive edge for the hospitals embracing change and internet in the medical field (Howell, 2006).
References
Howell, J. D. (2006). Technology in the Hospital: Transforming Patient Care in the Early Twentieth Century. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
HRSA. (2010). Meaningful Use and Critical Access Hospitals, A Primer on HIT Adoption in the Rural Health Care Setting. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration , 1-8.
Payer, L. (2006). Medicine and Culture. New York: Holt Paperbacks.
Reiser, S. J. (2001). Medicine and the Reign of Technology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
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