| Home | Title Page | Introduction | Background | Potential Benefits | Future Uses | Conclusion | References |
One of the biggest benefits of technology in medicine is how convenient processes are made. It has allowed for much more efficiency such as the substitutions of humans for machines as well as efficiency in many other departments. A major department that has benefitted from this simplification is medical records. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is one of the biggest benefits from technology. Before modern day computers, health records were all recorded on paper and put in files. Those files were then organized into large shelves which took up a lot of space and allowed for disorganization, a very inefficient and tedious way of storing large amount of information. With the help of modern day computer technology, health records are now able to be stored in computers which allow for better organization as well as easy access. There are millions of patients and a simple search on a database of a patient can be very efficient as opposed to physically looking in the shelves for the patients records. Records can now be found very quickly and since they are stored in large databases, it is now possible for a file to be accessed from anywhere in the country (Young, 2003). In case of an emergency, doctors in different cities or states of the country can access that patient’s records for existing conditions and allergies to provide instant medical care, instead of not knowing what the patient will and will not react to. This knowledge can mean life and death for many patients. The easy availability of these records also allows emergency care personnel enough time to save a dying patient.
Another benefit from technology is biomedical imaging. Biomedical imaging allows doctors to look inside your body via images to diagnose a medical condition (“Diagnostic Imaging”, 2009). Imaging machines can create pictures of the organs and structures inside your body. X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and ultrasounds are all only made possible through computer technology, and the images from these machines allow doctors to diagnose a patient’s condition inside the body without relying on exploratory surgical methods. Medical imaging allows for safe examinations to find anything unusual in the body (Smith, 2003). Without today’s technology, doctors would either have to perform surgery or use other time-consuming methods of diagnosing patients with internal medical conditions.
Everyone in the healthcare profession, especially doctors, must be kept constantly up-to-date with new technologies (Neale, 2009). They are required to keep up with modern medicine. One of the primary methods to do that is by reading journals and taking exams to ensure understanding. Nurses and people who assist them have to keep up with safety and if possible, new and efficient ways of performing procedures. For example, if a new and more efficient way to draw blood was discovered, nurses and assistants would be required to learn that new way. The only feasible way they would learn that is thorough the internet and computer. It would be convenient for everyone to learn the new method, through a computer, which is a very fast way to learn something new. Simple online examinations will also be a quick way to stay updated. No paper would be necessary, and nurses could stay updated through the internet. The internet allows for anyone to learn at his own pace. Unlike a classroom, people can learn at their leisure through the computer. Doctors also stay updated through the internet. They have to keep up with modern medicine because other doctors are coming up with new methods to diagnose patients and new diseases are discovered daily. Completing medical school is not the end of a doctor’s learning experience; doctors must be well versed in new discoveries as new methods are constantly being developed. Because of this, it is highly recommended for doctors to do their own research and read other doctors’ journals to stay updated (Neale, 2009). The easiest way doctors can read journals is through the internet. They are readily accessible and once again can be read at a doctor’s leisure. Another advantageous use of the internet is networking. Doctors are able to communicate with each other through the internet via discussion boards and forums (Oak, 2008). They could ask each other questions and discuss medical issues as well as seek advice and help with from each other (Oak, 2008). There are examples where technology facilitates the process of learning.