Computers and New Technology in Healthcare, Research Paper Example

Some healthcare professionals believe that computers and new technology will improve efficiency and reduce costs, while others believe they will improve quality and raise costs. However, the impact that the technology will have on healthcare depends upon its specific function, whether it is an improvement of a specific technique that has been used in the past, or whether it works primarily to optimize certain procedures.

A useful example of technology that will improve efficiency and reduce costs are electronic health record (EHR) systems. These electronic records improve the efficiency of healthcare settings in many ways (Gunter et al., 2005). Firstly, this allows the healthcare staff to retrieve patient records in quicker times, which will allow more thorough evaluation of their previous healthcare and a more efficient decision as to what is going on with their current health situation. This documentation will allow the healthcare professional to conduct a shorter interview when visiting the patient because they will already be aware of the majority of the patient’s health history and simply need to fill the gaps. This will reduce costs because it will allow healthcare professionals to see more patients in a shorter amount of time.

On the other hand, new medical equipment is often more accurate but also more expensive. Healthcare organizations often find it necessary to invest in the latest medical screening equipment to improve the care they deliver. An example of this is the acquisition of diagnostic tools, such as MRI machines. While older machines are good, a goal of the field is to eliminate false positives and false negatives. Therefore, newer MRI machines that seem to have this ability will be purchased. This will be more expensive, but the results will be more trustworthy.

References

Gunter TD, Terry NP. (2005). The Emergence of National Electronic Health Record Architectures in the United States and Australia: Models, Costs, and Questions. Journal of Medical Internet Research,7 (1): e3.

Habib JL. (2010). EHRs, meaningful use, and a model EMR. Drug Benefit Trends, 22(4):99-101.