June 17, 2013
Future Trends in Health Care
Health care industry have experienced and still experiencing increase in advancement of technology, there have been advancement in patients’ treatment, deliver of quality care, and hospital equipment. Through advanced technologies, health care boundaries have been push to enhanced integration of health care information. Health care information integration has been critical to the effectiveness of fragmentation of health care system.
How Internet or any new forms of electronic communication can be used as an external delivery source in communicating patient-specific information and the impact of distance delivery on health care will be evaluate in this paper. Also consideration will be given to the use of e-mail, telemedicine, and electronic transfer of records and assessment of how these issues affect health care today and how they may impact health care five years from now will be discusses in this paper.
Assessment of Internet and how it may be used in communicating patient specific information externally
Internet service was used by U.S. Defense Department and researchers initially, but presently, Internet is available also to health care providers and patients enabling them to have access to worldwide library health care resources and patient specific health information. There have been an increases in the popularity in utilizing Internet and other forms of electronic communication as means of delivering patients’ information externally, the increase in Internet popularity has allowed patients to get more information about their health condition and the increasing in number of health related Websites have made available for-up-to-date medical answers and questions. In clinical setting, Internet may be used to communicate specific patient information externally by provider accessing Internet rapidly for information that can help in diagnosing health condition of patient and developing treatment plan suitable for the patient. Internet may be used to communicate specific patient information externally by:
1. Health care use Internet to market services to communicate the service to patient.
2. Internet communicates to patient by providing patient health care information resources.
3. Used to communicate to patient where, how, and when health care will be delivered.
4. Patient can access patient records, practice guidelines, and test result directly from the examination room through Internet.
5. Providers consult with each other electronically to discuss specific patient treatment plan or procedure for operation.
6. Patients have more access to more health related information, health plan administration, other patients, and effectively communicate with care providers.
7. Internet support health care related activities beyond provision of care directly.
8. Internet helps to revolutionize the way patient, providers, and health care organization access health information, communication, and conduct health care delivery services.
Impact of distance delivery on health care Telehealth such as telemedicine, telenursing, telepharmacy, telepresence, and other types of health care delivery make distance health care delivery possible by using telecommunication systems such as Internet, e-health, video application, store-and-downward mode to deliver distance health care to patients. There are positive and negative impacts of distance delivery on health car. The positive impacts are as follows:
1. Unnecessary patient travel decreased.
2. Decreased time wasting for specialty consultation
3. Improved chronic health conditions.
4. Time between referrals and clinical encounter is decreased.
5. Enhanced quality of health care.
6. Enhanced quality, accessible, cost-effective health care delivery.
7. Enhanced rural patents receiving diagnosis and treatment from distant health care from an expert.
8.