Technological Advances in Healthcare

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life. -John F. Kennedy

It's no secret that technology has significantly advanced in the healthcare industry. We have robots that can perform surgery. We have machines that can let us see inside the body. We don't have paperwork filling up doctors' offices; we have all the information stored inside the computers. With technological advances, there are benefits and disadvantages.

I have noticed, personally, that a lot has changed in my own healthcare experiences. When I was a child, my pediatrician always came in with a file folder full of papers. Now, when I visit my doctor, the nurse just finds my name in a computer system, enters my vital information, and leaves it for my doctor to make notes on. When I was in the hospital having my daughter, they brought me a tablet and I used a stylus to sign my name on the screen, instead of using a pen and papers. All of these things have been very interesting to see. I never know what is going to be new and exciting at my next visit.

One problem I have faced as a patient is the higher price of technology-based healthcare. Last year, I had a great primary care physician who was helping me find the right medication for my depression and ADHD. I saw her at least once a month to follow up. One day, I saw signs that said they were switching to digital health records. All of my paperwork was now in a computer, and I had to sign a form to acknowledge this change. I thought it was a great advancement for the office. My previous primary care physicians had already switched over to computer-based records and I found it to be much quicker and more convenient. However, about 2 or 3 months after my doctor's office switched to electronic records, I was informed that they would be shutting down the office in a few weeks. The costs ended up being too high, and my doctor could not keep up with the increasing costs. I was forced to find a new physician at a moment's notice. This is the only "inconvenience" I have personally faced, though. However, I can see that technology could potentially cause some other problems.

Of course advances in technology result in an increase of healthcare costs. Hospitals are faced with the need to "keep up" with all of the new technology and bring in the "latest and greatest" devices in order to compete with other area hospitals. There is also the chance of electronic devices "crashing" or losing information, as well as failure to work properly. However, I do believe that technology could bring our healthcare system to amazing advances and has the potential to do great things for the overall health of our world.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.-Arthur C. Clarke