Progress in the Medical FieldEssay Preview: Progress in the Medical FieldReport this essayNancy LuWanda TyreeLui SowaWorld LiteratureMay 23, 2013What is progress? According to Websters dictionary progress is defined as: Noun, Forward or onward movement toward a destination. Verb, Move forward or onward in space or time: “as the century progressed, the quality of telescopes improved”. But what is the true nature of progress and how does it apply to computers in the medical field? The medical field is full of progressive technologies and the most prevalent progressive technology in the medical field is its computers. The computers used in the medical field vary from the basic electronic records of patients to the extreme computers such as the Da Vinci which is a surgical robotic system. Each computer in the medical field is there to help patients and physicians and to keep medicine running smoothly. The advancements of computers in the medical field are driven by societies need to streamline everything. There are many different types of computers but the fundamental reasons for them are to increase longevity, decrease patients symptoms quickly so they recover faster. Patients also like the less invasive scans versus a physician palpating every inch of their body to try and diagnosis a problem. Computers help from diagnosis to treatment and follow up. From first meeting with a physician, to diagnosing symptoms, to having scans to verify diagnosis to performing surgeries unassisted my the hands of a surgeon, computers are found in every step of the medical field. I will show you how each progressive computer a patient would come across and how they will help patients maintain healthier longer lives.
When a patient enters a physicians office they no longer see paper charts instead they will see the office staff and physician with something similar to an ipad. This device has all the patients information stored by patient name and an identification number. During the 1970s and 1980s, several electronic medical record systems were developed and further refined by various academic and research institutions. In 2009 congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This act is to pressure physicians to adopt electronic charts versus paper charts, with penalties to any physician who has not changed to electronic medical records (E.M.R.) by 2015. The EMR are designed to increase overall efficiency and portability. The efficiency is due to a streamlined approach of looking up a patients previous diagnosis which would all be listed in one are versus flipping thru page by page in a patients paper chart. Portability is also essential when more than one physician is involved in the care of a patient. The doctors can send updates straight to the other physicians and they will automatically be placed in the patients E.M.R. For the sake of the injured and unconscious patient that ends up in an ambulance and E.M.R. that can be sent to the emergency room physician while the patient is en-route to the emergency room can mean the matter of life and death.
Once a patient is admitted into a hospital they are given an identification bracelet with a bar code on it. The same bar code is on the patients medications and their IVs. Each time anything is given to the patient the bracelet bar code is scanned then the medication is scanned to verify the right medications are given at the right time to the right patient. All this information is sent directly to the patients chart as well as which staff member was the one recording the information and giving the patient the medication. These checks and balances due to the computerized systems help save patients lives by preventing medication errors. They also help prevent medications from being stolen by hospital staff members since there is direct accountability.
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The patient’s personal health information collected during the monitoring and medication checks is kept confidential and anonymous. Patients are only allowed to access the information under a reasonable expectation of privacy. This means no hospital staff member could view the patient’s physician’s notes that they obtained, nor is there any reason to believe that they were a drug dealer, drug addict, or sex offender who was in contact with a drug dealer.
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The patient must submit medical records before the monitoring and medication checks are complete. The patient need not submit any information to the monitoring and medication checks.
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The hospital’s pharmacy records a patient’s records with medical staff that they can access in a secure and secure way. There are a variety of electronic documents on each patient that can be accessed by anyone who wants access to them.
Holds a large collection of documents on each patient, and an entire series of information that is used by the hospital to ensure adherence to the doctor’s instructions with the medication. There are a variety of electronic records on each patient that can be accessed by anyone who wants access to them. This website includes, each with his or her name and address, hospital numbers, and the patient’s home address.
If you have questions about the hospital’s practices for patients to request an information book or for information in relation to your personal information, you can contact the hospital at:
John A. Mears, Chief Care, Medical Services, New York University School of Medicine <:[email protected]>
To view the facility’s medical records, and to request a copy of your information on the hospital’s HIPAA-compliant Healthcare Provider Identification System, please visit the Health Care Technology Center or your nearest hospital.