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Lowering Health Care Costs Through the Use of New...
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Lowering Health Care Costs Through the Use of
New Technologies
MIS 304 Professor Fang Fang
May 10th, 2010
A report by:
Jannae Baca, Carly Byron, Melissa Caro and Michael Paje
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Table of Contents
I. Introduction………………………………. 3
II. Prevention…………………………………5
III. Diagnosis………………………………….9
IV. Treatment………………………………….15
V. Conclusion………………………………...21
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I. Introduction
We chose this topic because we are interested in learning more about the
relationship between health and technology. In addition, when we started researching
for our topic we found the link between technology and how it helped health services to
provide better assistance to our society very interesting.
Health technology is the use of skill to improve health care systems and medical
devices. It is also described as a technique that is utilized by health professionals to
help with diagnoses along with prevention and treatment. Health technology also
improves quality and a more organized health care system. We have learned a lot in our
Management Information System class of how important it is to be updated in new
innovations and new information systems. According to what we have learned from our
MIS class, information system can help people to achieve goals and objectives of a
business.
We see how technology has helped in so many ways to improve our society
and at the same time has also reduced costs. Today, healthcare is one of the most
controversial topics in our society. One of the reasons is the high cost of health care.
According to research, health care costs in the United States are over two trillion dollars.
A doctor’s appointment, prescriptions, x-rays, and treatments can be very expensive;
furthermore, procedures and treatments can be excessive and unnecessary. With the
use of the newest software, hardware, and equipment it will help health care systems to
be more efficient and accurate.
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The World Health Organization states that “health technology helps to solve
health problems and it saves lives” (www.who.com). New technology and better
systems are helping hospitals and health service centers to provide better assistance. In
developing countries they do not have many resources available for their health. New
technology will help those developing countries prevent diseases and diagnose illness
such as diabetes, malaria and HIV; furthermore, these technologies will lower the cost
of treatments.
Our focus for this project is to share what new technologies and new systems are
being invented for our society and around the world to decrease health care costs. We
also want to share how these new systems and technologies have improved our health
care centers and have helped to reduce the patients’ costs.
According to a website called How to do things “new technologies can lead to
cost savings and efficiency. The problem of expensive health care can be solved by
adequate use of information technology in the health care system.” This means
information systems and information technology is a very important tool of business. It
helps the people such as doctors, nurses, and patients to improve communication and
prevent extra visits to the doctor as well as saving money. “The Health Information
Technology (HIT) is working on providing a better communication between patients and
health care personal” (Kosmider). This means that with the help of technology hospitals
and health institutions get a better system and better equipment.
New innovations and the use of information systems will help to reduce medical
expenses on diagnosis prevention and treatment. This means that with new equipment
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and better software people who work in health care institutions will be capable of
offering better assistance to patients. In addition, it will help to prevent unnecessary
procedures and extra medical exams that patients sometimes have to go through in
order to find any possible problems with their health. According to an article from
stltoday.com, some Americans are more likely to get insurance, because of the new
technology being invented. The article states “medical entrepreneurs are moving swiftly,
promising new drugs and medical devices that will be ‘safer, faster and cheaper’”
(Doyle).
A reason why it is so important to be open to new things is because we may be
able to prevent the extra costs and time spent on needless exams, treatments and other
procedures that a patient may not need. Better communication and the right equipment
can fix these underlying problems.
II. Prevention
Ideally the best way to lower health care costs would be to eliminate the need for
health care all together through preventative technologies. Unfortunately with bacteria
and viruses constantly evolving, this idea is simply unrealistic. Even so, preventative
technologies can still drastically reduce health care costs. Focusing on major problems
the population faces today, these technologies can not only save money, but thousands
upon thousands of human lives as well. Presented below are several upcoming
technologies focused on achieving this goal.
Pandemics of bird flu, influenza and the recent H1N1 virus pose an imminent
threat to people everywhere. The next bird flu pandemic is estimated to claim over sixty-
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two million lives. Almost sixty million of the lives claimed will be in developing nations
with seventeen million being children (http://www.filligent.com/). To prevent such a
tragedy an affordable, simple solution is needed. Filigent, a Hong Kong biotech
company, is dedicated to conquering such a challenge. As such, the company has
created BioMask. Biomask is a medical facemask that kills influenza, common cold,
respiratory and measles viruses as well as mycobacterium on contact. Such a feat is
made possible by BioFriend, another product generated by Filigent. BioFriend utilizes
molecular mimicry. Basically it acts as human cells to attract microbes. Then BioFriend
destroys them by disrupting their surfaces and cell walls. Filigent has not revealed the
exact agent used to accomplish this molecular mimicry, (probably to prevent
competition in the marketplace) but they have revealed how it works. The agent
generates a negative charge to attract the microbes. Next copper and zinc ions kill the
microbes as describe above. Tests show that this rather simple process can be very
effective. BioMask was sprayed with fifty times the amount of virus contained in a
normal sneeze. In less than one minute, ninety-nine and nine tenths of the viruses were
destroyed. After ten minutes, the viruses were one-hundred percent eliminated. This is
extraordinary in comparison with other facemasks where after ten minutes fifty thousand
viruses still remained (http://www.filligent.com/). Scientist estimate such an effective
facemask could decrease the number of cases from one million to six in the first eight
weeks of a pandemic. BioMask is not yet for sale, but Filigent hopes to sell it for twenty-
five percent less than a standard surgical mask (http://www.filligent.com). Researching
facemasks on the Amazon website, the BioMask should cost between ten to twenty
dollars. Such an affordable technology will help not only people in wealthy countries, but
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those living in the third world as well.
People of third world nations face a great variety of health threats. One such
often forgotten threat, steams from the lack of proper toilets. Over two and half billion
people in the world do not have access to modern, proper toilets. Such hazardous
waste causes one and half million children every year to die from diarrhea. Such
startling facts motivated Anders Wilhelmson to invent the PeePoo bag in September
2005. The PeePoo bag is lined with a urea coating. Enzymes in human waste
breakdown urea into ammonia and carbonate. This process kills pathogens by raising
the pH level. Once this is complete, the leftover ammonia fertilizes the soil while the bag
biodegrades. The best part of all, the PeePoo bag only cost three cents
(http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/peepoo-bags-sterlize-human-waste-
and-create-fertilizer-only-three-cents). Between December 2008 and January 2009
three hundred people living in Kibera tested the PeePoo bag. The product was
positively received and produced magnificent results (http://www.peepoople.com/). The
PeePoo bag has the potential to save millions of lives at an incredibly low cost. Until
modern toilets become available to the billions of people in need, the PeePoo bag is a
great solution.
Another significant way to diminish health care cost is by catching a disease
before it becomes life threatening. The Lab-in-a-Wristwatch tackles such a challenge.
The wristwatch is packed with different small chips all accomplishing a variety things.
With a drop of saliva, the watch can diagnose the threat of a heart attack. With a drop of
blood, the watch can search for indicators of thromboses. The watch can also detect
dehydration through skin moisture and warn a patient with a pacemaker if their too close
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to an electromagnetic field. These different chips are customizable to individual patient
needs. This product is still being fully developed and as such does not have a price
associated with it; however, it is designed in an expensive plastic. The developers,
scientist from the Frauhhofer Institute in Germany, are aiming to keep price low. Even if
the price comes out a little high, the development of this product could lead to the
disposable of expensive diagnosis equipment; furthermore, patients will not have to wait
days upon days to receive lab results. The wristwatch provides an immediate answer
and action can be taken right away (http://www.fraunhofer.de). Like the other two
technologies, the wristwatch could also benefit third world countries by eliminating the
need for an expensive lab. The wristwatch allows a quick, affordable diagnosis possible
preventing even larger, more expensive health issues in the future.
Similar to the Lab-on-Chip Wristwatch, gold nanosensors are now being used to
continuously monitor blood clots and trace proteins. Silica cores, about one-hundred
and twenty nanometers in diameter, are wrapped in gold shells covered with aptamers.
Aptamers are nucleic acid strands that are capable of binding to specific molecules.
These sensors are injected into blood streams and latch onto biomarkers for different
diseases. Shinning a laser onto the sensor causes it to emit a specific light spectrum
associated with a specific apatmer. Once the sensor is latched onto a biomarker the
light spectrum changes. Such a technique immediately informs doctors of blood clots
presence. Or in the case of thrombin, the sensors can be used as a continuous
monitoring system, again informing doctors of any immediate, deadly changes.
Basically by using different apatmers, a variety of diseases can be tracked. No cost
estimates have been released. Also not noted is how long the sensors last. Does the
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body eventually break them down? Does a patient need to periodically re-inject
him/herself with these sensors? For the time being, these questions remain unanswered.
Another potential set back is the price of gold. With resent economic conditions, the
price of gold has skyrocketed. As such this technology may prove to be cost ineffective;
however, the current test for blood clots is already time consuming and expensive
(http://www.popsci.com). When the price of gold comes back down again, this
technology could prove to be worthwhile.
The above example preventative technologies will not eliminate health care cost
all together, but they have the potential to make a drastic impact. Continued
development of such technology will continue to benefit our society; furthermore,
combining preventative, diagnosis and treatment technologies will create a more
affordable future for patients.
III. Diagnosis
When it comes to a person’s health, prevention is very important. Sometimes
things just cannot be avoided, and when this happens the next step is to diagnose the
problem. Many diagnostic tools are out there to help a doctor decipher what is wrong
with their patient. The only problem with these technologies is that most of them are
very expensive to use. Without the aid of insurance, most patients cannot afford to pay
the medical bills that these technologies create. Different procedures and equipment are
used for an array of medical options to diagnose the issue, but the problem is that a
patient is paying hundreds of dollars just to diagnose the problem, not treat it. This is a
huge dilemma not only in America but in third world countries whose doctors and
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hospitals cannot even afford to have these technologies that are capable of diagnosing
problems. In America we have the technology, but if a citizen cannot afford to have
health insurance, then it is not likely that they can afford the medical expenses that it
would cost to diagnose the issue, let alone treat it. For third world countries that are able
to afford these technologies, it is likely that the hospitals that have them are only in the
city and not all citizens of these places have the means to get into the city to receive
help. This means that they are forced to go to local doctors who may not be able to do
anything or not even seek any help and try to deal with the problem on their own. As
medicine and technology quickly evolve, we begin to see answers to these problems.
New technology is being invented that will diagnose health problems in a much cheaper
and easier fashion than ever before. These technologies are also much smaller which
make for easy portable use. This is a great for third world countries because they tend
to do a lot of house calls for patients, since not everyone can leave their house or facility.
There are many new technologies that have come out to help eliminate this problem.
The diagnostic chip is one of those technologies. This chip is simply a piece of
paper treated with hydrophobic polymer that takes the liquid and moves it along
different sections where it encounters different regents that make it change colors. The
chip looks like a small tree, where the branches are the different sections. It is the size
of a finger print and costs only about a penny. It is used by putting a drop of blood on
the chip and depending on the colors of the branches, it will determine if the patient has
a disease. Some of the diseases that it can diagnose are HIV, malaria, tuberculosis,
hepatitis, and gastroenteritis. These are all very serious diseases that are especially
prevalent in third world countries. With the chip only costing a penny and being so small,
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it will make an enormous amount of difference for these countries. They will be able to
afford it and give it out to millions of citizens who will be able to find out if they are
carriers of these diseases. If they are, they will be able to promptly seek medical
attention to treat them. Not only will this help the patients be able to find if they are
carriers of these diseases, but these chips will also be able to tell them how severe the
virus has gotten. Most technologies cannot do this but with this capability it will save
large amounts of money. Usually figuring out how bad a disease has progressed
generally involves more money and more lab testing. Vials of blood will no longer have
to be taken and sent to labs in order to receive results because in that amount of time a
patients disease could be escaladed . The ease of portability that these chips can
provide makes it so that even the remotest areas can receive them. This chip was
invented by George Whitesides who is a chemistry professor at Harvard. One of his
goals for this technology is to make it so that cell phones can be used in tangent with
the paper chip. This was a promising idea because he knows that cell phones are so
prevalent everywhere, people in third world countries who can’t make it to large cities to
have their results read can send a picture of the chip to large hospitals in the city. He
also wants to invent an application that will help a patient read their own chip and
decipher for themselves what diseases they have. This chip requires little technology to
create and can be made so cheaply that it helps to answer the problems of expensive
diagnosis technologies.
Another new technology that is saving large amounts of money in the medical
world is the 3M Littmann Electronic Stethoscope 3200. This device is a stethoscope that
does so much more than the average stethoscope which is only used to listen to things
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in the human body, such as a heartbeat and breathing in the lungs. This new device
amplifies sound with exceptional sound quality and also has the capability to record
what it hears. It is also able to record and play back for the doctor to listen to as many
times as they need as well as have other doctors listen for a possible second opinion,
without the patient ever having to be there. This saves patients large amounts of money
because they do not have to come in for more appointments, in order to have their heart
heard again. The doctor can just play it over and over again until they are satisfied that
they have diagnosed the problem correctly. It also has Bluetooth that can send the
recorded sounds to a computer, where they can be saved, stored, or sent to other
locations. The biggest money saving part of this stethoscope is that it has software that
can detect heart murmurs and from that it can tell a doctor if the patient has a heart
abnormality or leaky valve. This saves money because according to popular science,
“This scope could save $9.4 billion a year in unnecessary echocardiogram tests and
cardiologist fees.” This is a substantial amount of money being saved because the
doctor able to detect what’s wrong right then and there, instead of sending patients off
to do extra tests that are unnecessary if the doctor already knows what the problem is.
The average citizen, even if they do not have insurance, will likely be able to afford a
basic exam by their doctor where they can be checked by this equipment. This tool
makes it easier for doctors to catch heart problems that may have been previously
missed by the old stethoscopes.
A new technology that has been recently publicized on television commercials is
General Electric’s new Vscan, which is a portable ultrasound scanner. This new
equipment is the size of a cell phone and can be used anywhere without the need of
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being plugged in or attached to anything other than itself. This can save large amounts
of money because doctors will no longer need to send patients to radiology and will
eliminate the technician who would administer the x-ray, as well as the use of the large
expensive radiology equipment that was used in the past. This new technology is also
great for third world countries that cannot afford the large equipment and may not have
much access to the electricity that the large equipment requires. Also, because it is
portable, it can be taken to patients in third world countries if they do not have a way of
getting to the doctors or clinics in the area. The scanner will take real time scans of the
patient and like a camera take a picture that can be zoomed in or moved around. The
picture is in black and white but color overlay can be added if necessary. The scan can
be recorded and replayed later and like the stethoscope has Bluetooth technology so
that the scans can be sent out and saved to review later. This is all very useful
technology that will help in the fight to lower health care costs.
Microscopes are very expensive, especially for a high tech one. They cost in the
hundreds of dollars for a basic one and in the thousands of dollars for a really good one.
With these prices so high that third world countries cannot afford to keep in all their
clinics. A new technology has been invented that can turn any cell phone with a camera
into a portable microscope for the very inexpensive cost of only ten dollars. Almost any
country or clinic can afford this and most people have cell phones that this equipment
can attach to. This can also save on professional lab technicians because in these
countries it can be hard to find lab technicians that can read what the microscopes are
showing. So to help fix this situation, the cell scope is attached to the camera of the cell
phone which enables the user to take a picture of what the cell scope is showing. Once
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the picture is on the cell phone, it can be sent to any hospital or lab technician to take a
look at the picture and send back the results very quickly. This device saves money as
well as time and comes in many different ranges of scopes. Scopes can be different
lengths with different magnification power. The diversity in scopes makes sure that all
things can be seen in a very cost effective manner. The cell phone does not have to be
changed or modified in any way to fit the scope onto it, so no extra cost is incurred by
the user. Not only is this technology great for developing worlds but can be used by
regular citizens around the world and right here in the United States. It is very common
here in America that our doctors and clinics are equipped with larger microscopes but
the scopes can be bought by any citizen wishing to use it. The purpose that it serves is
to help the average citizen save money and keep track of their own changing health
conditions. For someone who has a mole or multiple moles that need to be watched, a
person can use the scope to take a picture that is then sent to their doctor who can
keep an eye on the mole without the patient ever having to step foot inside the doctor’s
office. It can also be used by cancer patients in relatively the same fashion because
they can conduct their own blood cell count and can send pictures to their doctors who
can monitor the blood count. This saves money because every time a patient visits the
doctor’s office it is costing them money.
All of these new technologies combined are working together to save money and
save lives. The diagnosis of a problem is critical to helping a patient stay alive. If a
disease goes unnoticed, it will get worse, so catching it sooner is imperative to keeping
a patient alive and healthy. The sooner it can be caught the sooner they can be treated.
Health care for most people is the largest cost that they will incur in their lifetime.
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Keeping these costs down will make it so that everyone can afford good health care no
matter how much money they make. Technology is at the leading front of doing this, so
we rely on it to help lower the costs that we are seeing when bills come in. It also makes
it so that other countries who normally cannot afford health care have a cheaper option
when diagnosing health problems.
IV. Treatment
The prevention and diagnosis is important in a doctor’s ability to do the correct
treatment to any case. The treatment that a doctor does can help a patient’s health.
New technologies are emerging for doctors to use in their facilities to help patients live
longer. The new treatments will be explained and examined.
A. Medical Access
The new technologies are giving the medical interactions between patient and
doctors faster service. Doctors can now process information by online access and
patients can retrieve the information, medical records are securely put on a medical
website and instead of calling to setup an appointment, patients can setup online
appointments. Doctors can send emails confirming appointments and patients can
setup manual or automatic payments on the medical website. Hospitals and medical
centers have safe and secure websites that benefit the doctor and patient relationship.
Online access is cutting down cost by taking away the human time along with setting up
appointments at the office maybe soon transitioned to computer base soon.
Technology is catching up to faster responses and cost is going down.
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According to Injury Board website, Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) effective April 14th, 2003 monitor who accesses your medical
records. Friends, Family, Insurance Companies, Government Agencies, Employers,
Court Orders, and Health Researchers can have access to your records. Keeping your
records safe and secure is what the Act is implemented for; you can also check who
accesses your records.
B. New Technologies
There are twenty impacting new technologies that are helping treatment costs go
down. One is decay-fighting microbes. The normal treatment is brushing your teeth and
seeing the dentist for routine check-ups and bacteria living on teeth causes tooth decay.
The microbes act like a barrier that can last a life time. A Florida based company ONI
BioPharm has made bacteria that doesn’t cause tooth decay. The dentist just applies
the bacteria on the tooth and it’s done. The costs are not known yet but imagine not
going to the dentist for tooth problems any more.
Another type of treatment is the asthma sensor. Asthma is an inflammatory
disorder that causes the airways to feel shortness of breath, coughing and chest
tightness. A research team at the University of Pittsburg has developed a nanotube that
is really tiny. The handheld device can enter a person’s nasal passage and analyze the
breathing pattern. It helps determine if you’re going to have an asthma attack. This will
help millions of Americans fighting asthma attacks.
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Interestingly there is a cancer spit test and it won’t require a patient to do biopsy
tests anymore. Biopsies are treatments that remove the tissue for examination. A
research team at the University of Los Angeles has made a test that can detect oral
cancer from a drop of saliva with promising results that can detect new diseases.
Imagine being able to detect a disease without getting a 2-3 hour doctor visit that can
cost time and money. The spit test can help save you hours spent at the doctor’s office
and monetary funds.
People that need their heart rhythm monitored use an electrical pacemaker that’s
inserted inside the human chest. It will run out of battery and can cause certain types of
irritation and prolonged health risk. Several researchers at different universities are
combining their efforts to combat this problem. They are making a biological pacemaker
using stem cell research. They say they can use a biological pacemaker to follow the
rhythms of a canine’s heart. This is a stretch but still the results can help people in
need. This future treatment can bring health care cost of a pacemaker extremely down
because it will require only a one time operation versus multiple doctor visits.
Glaucoma is a disease that causes blindness in many people today. A contact
research team at the University of California Davis has made a contact lens that can’t
detect and monitor your eyes. The wireless technology is linked to a nearby computer
and provides early detection that can prevent blindness. The researchers are hopeful
that the contact lens may be able to dispense drugs to the eye. The contact lenses are
called Smart contact lens.
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A speech restorer made by an Illinois group Ambient Corporation can help
restore speech. People that don’t have the ability to talk are like this because the
neuronal signals don’t make it from the brain to the voice box. The device connects the
neuronal signals to a voice box or computer outside of the body. The ability will help
people communicate better in the future because they won’t have to type or breathe out
words.
Imagine not having the ability to move your muscles. You wouldn’t be able to
pick up anything or do much of anything. Throughout our body we have muscles that
help us do our day to day things. People that break their muscle take a long time to
heal and when people break their bones the muscle in the area will begin to shrink.
That’s because of a lack of physical interaction causing them to recede. An Israel
company StimuHeal has made the Myospace, it’s a battery operated device that is
inserted on the area of the muscle. The patient can wear a cast and still have their
muscles stay their normal size and wont have to wait awhile for their muscles to return
to their original size. People today have problems rehabilitating, this solves that problem.
It makes it possible to not even move your muscle and it is either reshaped or stays the
same as you had it. The future savings to this treatment is time and money.
People that have nerve problems and don’t have the ability to move don’t have
many solutions. A researcher at the University of Northwestern University is developing
a nerve regenerator. This is a breakthrough created from stem cell research. Basically
you inject the nano gel liquid into the damaged area. Instead of helping heal the scar
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tissue the nano gel will rebuild the nerve damaged. It’s still in development but their
work has promising results.
The Smart pill is a pill being developed by California group called Proteus
Biomedical. The pill shows if a patient has taken the pill because there is a sensor on
each pill and can be identified who’s taken the pill. The treatment will help patients from
overdosing and making a better monitoring effect to see if the patients taking their
required medicine. The future savings for the insurance companies and doctors will help
drive the prices of pharmaceuticals down. The pill is already in its final testing and when
it gets approved the pill will save patients money in the long run.
Gastrointestinal liner is an interesting treatment. Basically people have to have
gastric bypass surgery to help extreme overweight problems. Millions of Americans are
affected from being overweight and have to try different types of diets and workouts to
slim down and maintain a better health. A Massachusetts group Gi Dynamics has
developed a treatment that prevents food from making contact to the intestinal wall.
When food connects to the intestinal wall it gets absorbed to the body and makes
people overweight. The device is a liner which doesn’t need surgery just insertion. The
results show patients losing weight by this procedure. In the future people won’t need to
do surgery to fix their overweight, the liner will do that.
A human body’s liver does the job of detoxification, protein synthesis and
biochemicals necessary for digestion. People with liver problems have a hard time
doing examinations and treatments. Painful biopsies are needed to examine your liver.
A research team from France called EchoSens are developing a machine that can scan
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a person’s liver in a matter of minutes. The scan is called a Fiboscan that measures the
organs elastically. The scan helps determine if your liver is healthy enough for further
use.
C. New Treatment
Nano medicine is what has been in development and in use. It is being used right
now in the computer industry to make chips smaller. Nano medicine is being researched
to help with treatments and to lower infections. Researchers are using this type of
medicine to treat brain tumors and other types of surgeries that require a more precise
type of treatment. The ability to attack certain cancer cells and not affect other cells is
important to the treatment. It’s still being developed but it’s promising.
Wireless medicine is being used already. Patients can be treated by doctor’s
miles away with virtual monitors and visual aids. The wireless technology brings health
care faster to people in need. The diagnosis and treatment can become faster in the
future to bring the success rate of operations and treatments better. Wireless medicine
is helping patients interact with their doctors.
Medical imaging is getting better visually. It helps doctors examine and see what
a patient’s health is at. The image that is being developed shows a clear visual for
patients to understand why the treatments they get are being done. It’s also helping in
treatment by leading the surgeon to the right location and making different cuts.
Virtual medicine is where they use tiny particles to look into a certain area on a
human body and magnify it to 1 micron. The treatment will help people who don’t want
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biopsies. The research is fairly new to the field and needs more testing to see how
viable it is.
Artificial medicine is already in use in the medical field. Types of artificial
medicine are heart, liver, lung, pancreas, bladder, and other types of organs. The
artificial organs used today are getting better and more efficient. Examples of certain
organs that will help patients in the future are artificial pancreas that will help diabetics
control their glucose levels. Artificial medicine has promising results and the
researchers still have more to do.
V. Conclusion
Initially when we began our research, we felt overwhelmed. Upcoming
technologies appeared to be overly abundant. As we continued researching, it was easy
to see how helpful these innovative technologies are for everyone worldwide.
Information systems and information technology are very important tools for health care.
In addition, health technology is helping to reduce costs and be more accessible to all.
The presented technologies of this paper are but a brief insight to the innovations
that will completely alter the health care system. As preventive technologies are further
developed, patients will save money by avoiding expensive diseases and diagnosis.
Pandemics such as bird flu and H1N1 may one day be a thing of the past. Diagnosis
technologies will continue to grow and eliminate the need for expensive diagnosis
systems. Tools such as the paper chip will start to provide third world countries with the
health care they definitely need and deserve. Finally, treatment technologies will
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constantly be adapting. Efficient techniques to treat everything from infections to heart
disease will become a normal part of society. Most importantly the combination of these
three approaches will significantly impact health care cost around the world. As a
society we all deserve equal access to medical treatment. One day, this idea will
become a reality.
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Works Cited
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Doyle, Jim. "Cutting Health Cost Helps New Ideas Sell." StlToday. N.p., 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 6 Apr. 2010 <http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf /story/DB64A39BC1BB7F3C8625770C0000A712?OpenDocument>.
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