The information in this paper will discuss the evolution of health care industry over the last decade. Over the last decade, many changes in technology, economic perspective, and finance have made a prevalent impact in health care. Health in the early 1990’s was simple and minimally effective as the different developments were introduced such as medications, immunizations, antibiotics, testing and treatment for fatal conditions and diseases, such as polio, chicken pox and many others. Past The health care industry has changed drastically in the last 10 years in aspect to preventive services, facilities that provide services to the underinsured or uninsured, and perspective health care professionals entering into health care. The use of technology …show more content…
The introduction of technology in health care in the form of Electronic Health Records (EHR), the storing and maintaining confidential medical history electronically. This advancement in technology has catapulted how patient records are received and transferred from physician to physician. Telemedicine is a form of technology that allows a physician or specialist to treat and diagnosis a patient from miles away or from other continents. Telemedicine gives individuals in rural area the ability to see a physician without struggling to find a doctor in their region (www.beckershospitalreview.com, 2014).The introduction of Health portals that allow patients and physicians to communicate from the comfort of one’s home, office or anywhere technology is welcomed. Mobile health unit that travel to rural areas and other areas where individuals that may not have transportation to visit medical facilities. Finance and economics have impacted the health care industry over the last 10 years by the cost sharing and changing benefits in many employer-sponsored health plans. Health cost makes up a large part of the budget in the United States because 10 years ago the number of uninsured or underinsured Americans was higher than previous years. The economy in the
For years now, the healthcare system in the United States have managed patient’s health records through paper charting, this has since changed for the better with the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. This type of system has helped healthcare providers, hospitals and other ambulatory institutions extract data from a patient’s chart to help expedite clinical diagnosis and providing necessary care. Although this form of technology shows great promise, studies have shown that this system is just a foundation to the next evolution of health technology. The transformation of EMR to electronic heath record system (EHR) is the ultimate goal of the federal government.
Healthcare professionals associated with medical billing and coding know the progress the technology has made so far. In the last few decades, medical billing and coding has switched from being a paper-based system to a computerized format. Under HIPAA laws, medical practitioners had to develop new software in order to send out electronic bills. With the advent of electronic medical records (EMR), with one touch of a button, doctors, Nurse Practitioners and PAs can gain access to all the care a patient has ever received from every healthcare facility the patients visited previously and can figure out possible illnesses. This enables statistical documentation of the population as a whole as well. EMR can also make the healthcare system more transparent and allow integration with reimbursement data. As the healthcare system changes, this will prevent unnecessary costs and make it easier to get the reimbursements needed to treat a patient.
The purpose of telemedicine is to remove distance as a barrier to health care. While telehealth is an accepted resource to bridge the gap between local and global health care, integrating telehealth into existing health infrastructures presents a challenge for both governments and policy makers (HRSA, 2011). Today there are policy barriers that prevent the expansion of telehealth, including reimbursement issues raised by Medicare and private payers, state licensure, and liability and privacy concerns.
An electronic health record (EHR), or electronic medical record (EMR), refers to the systematized collection of patient and population electronically-stored health information in a digital format. It details medical problems, medications, vital signs, patient history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports, progress notes .These records can be shared across different health care settings. It resides on an enterprise information systems and is exchanged via electronic networks.EHRs may include a range of data, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics like age and weight, and billing information.why is it needed? It seeks to be a complete record of a patient that can follow him/her from setting to setting increasing knowledge and consistency. It allows providers to obtain a complete picture of a patient and allows firms to automate and streamline workflows. It could improve patient and financial outcomes via evidence-based decisions, quality management, data mining, tracking, and reporting.
Often the biggest barriers to accessing healthcare are cost and location. Lower income individuals just do not have the resources to have optimal healthcare, or cannot take the time away from employment to deal with health issues. One potential solution to help with these problems could be “telehealth.” Telehealth allows a lower level healthcare practitioner to communicate with a physician or specialists when necessary. Remote rural areas use a Physician Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner on location in remote areas. When procedures call for a physician, an internet or satellite link provides a teleconference with a physician who can prescribe appropriate treatment (Gangon, Duplantie, Fortin & Landry 2006). This could be implemented in lower income urban areas, allowing free clinics to lower costs, and require fewer physicians.
With just a web camera and secure patient database to connect to a patient portal a doctor can view a patient’s records and send prescriptions and answer patient questions and concerns. The cost of Telemedicine is also less expensive than normal office visits and now insurance companies and Medicare cover the cost of this form of medicine.
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
reimbursement determinations. As a result, the camaraderie among physicians has developed into a more aggressive approach to impede competition (Shi & Singh, 2012). Little information is shared with patients in regards to procedures or disease control. The subjects are forced to rely on the internet for enlightenment on the scope of their illnesses (Shi & Singh, 2012). Furthermore, the U.S. health care system fails to provide adequate knowledge on billing strategies for operations and other medical practices. The cost in a free system is based on supply and demand and is known in advance of hospital admission (Shi & Singh, 2012). The need for new technology is another characteristic that is of interest when considering the health care system. Technology is often v...
Studies have implied that, healthcare professionals who practice clinical features through EHR were far more likely provide better preventive care than were healthcare professionals who did not. (page 116). From 2004, EHR has initiated, even the major priority of President Obama’s agenda is EHR (Madison & Stagger, 2011). Health care administration considers EHR as the introduction of advanced technology which can improve patient satisfaction are can increase the financial incentives of the healthcare organization. Studies have pointed out that the federal policy is proposed to transform all medical records into EHR (Hebda & Calderone, 2010).
Medical technology is expanding rapidly in hospitals all over the world. Telemedicine is one of the medical technologies that is used today in hospitals to help physicians and healthcare providers communicate with patients via phone, email and webcams, allowing them to provide quality care regardless the distance1. The use of telemedicine is bringing new approaches to treat, diagnose and prevent permanent damage to patients that need medical attention rapidly.
Healthcare current dynamics involves good decisions that create better healthcare for citizens. These dynamics allow healthcare providers to strategically plan for better opportunities to advance with providing the best healthcare. Also, this may include the needs of what all patients’ desire when it relates to healthcare. Furthermore, the changes that has taken place in healthcare today, has created quite a stir in the US. For an example, preventive measures have been implemented for women in many areas like having screenings with mammograms, or even with prenatal care. In many cases, diseases like breast cancer have been detected for healthcare providers to treat
The growth in health care expenditures and health care coverage including the need of digital health records;
What will US healthcare look like in 2050? According to Getzen (2013), trends in better health will lead to greater need for long-term care and chronic care for the aging population while correspondingly trending toward less acute illnesses (p. 438). Personalized prognostic healthcare will lead to healthier longer lives (Lawrence, 2010). Physicians will become leaders of teams within healthcare organizations rather than the independent practitioners we are familiar with today (Getzen, 2013, p. 438). Thus, the concept of the primary care physician will become a thing of the past (Lawrence, 2010).
Topol, Eric. "How Technology Is Transforming Health Care." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 12 July 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
With the help of telehealth and telenursing, overall healthcare costs can be reduced, especially for those patients