Health Care and Technology

Health Care and Technology

Christina Brown

HCA 210

June 22, 2014

Bobbie-Ann Murphy, MHA, MSN/ED, RN

The steady rises in health care costs have become a growing concern amongst today’s society. There are many suggested strategies to help reduce expenses such as controlling the occurrence of unnecessary procedures, along with employing the use of technology. Health information technology (HIT) has the ability to connect physicians and nurses with access to individual’s health records with the click of a button. With the introduction to electronic medical records (EMR), disease management has benefited due to the readiness of portable electronic devices when in the process of treating patients. Improving the quality of health care along with reducing costs by utilizing current technology equipment will prolong life expectancies and establish a financially stable society.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs has shown that health information technology (HIT) provides improved quality of health care and substantial cost savings, according to a study in the public health journal Health Affairs.” (n.a, 2010) This technology is sustained through a computerized, secure connection between all that need access to medical records such as providers, patients, insurers and physicians. Health information technology expands access to affordable health care and ensures that accurate diagnoses are continually maintained.

As a part of the health information technology, electronic medical record systems were enacted to lead to significant health care savings along with reduce common errors which include those pertaining to prescription drugs, preventive services, as well as tests and procedures. “EMRs allow treating physicians to access all of their previous notes, concerns, problem lists and laboratory/diagnostic results in the patient’s record, which is far more efficient than … loose collection of pages” (Fontenot, S. F. (2014) The recent standards of appropriate use for...