Transcript Technology in Medicine

Technology in Medicine

Computers in health care
• Medical information systems
• Administrative applications

Office management systems
• Clinical and special purpose systems
Other Applications
•
Computer-assisted surgery
•
Prosthetics
•
Pharmacy
Computer-assisted surgery
 Computer-assisting
surgical
planning
 Robotics
 Minimally invasive surgery
– endoscopic surgery
– laparoscopic surgery
Prosthetic Devices
 Myoelectric
limbs
 Microprocessors
 Computer technology for vision and
hearing
The Computerized Pharmacy
 Computers
and drug errors
 The automated community
pharmacy
 Hospital pharmacy robot and barcodes
 Point-of-use drug dispensing
Radiology and Digital Imaging

X-rays
• Traditional vs. digital x-ray
• Mammography
Ultrasound
 Digital imaging

• Computerized tomography
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Positron emission tomography
Bloodless surgery
• Interventional radiology
• Stereotactic radiosurgery
• Focused ultrasound surgery
Telemedicine
Definition: “The use of computers, the
Internet, and other communication
technologies to provide medical care to
patients at a distance.”
 Forms:

– Voice
– Data
– Still images
– Motion picture
Telemedicine
 Includes:
–Diagnoses
–Patient monitoring
–Treatments
Telemedicine
 Telehealth:
–Larger field that includes healthrelated education
–public health research
–health services administration
Telemedicine
 Advantages:
–Brings high quality medical care
to anyone regardless of distance
–Decreases patient wait time
–Decreases patient travel time
Telemedicine
Teleradiology: Oldest form of
telemedicine using computers and
telecommunications .
 Interactive video conferencing:
Conferencing that allows medical
professionals and patients to consult in
real-time, using telephones and video
screens.

Telemedicine
Telepathology: Transmission of
microscopic images over
telecommunications lines allowing the
pathologist to view images on a monitor
instead of under a microscope.
 Telepsychiatry: Uses teleconferencing to
deliver psychotherapy. May not be
suitable for some types of mental
illness.

Telemedicine

Remote monitoring devices
– Telespironmetry

used for asthma patients
information transmitted over telephone lines to
remote location
– Arrhythmia monitoring

ECG telemetry that monitors a patient’s cardiac
status and sends it to a remote location
Effectiveness of Telemedicine
Examining a patient at a distance is not
the same as examining that patient face
to face
 In prisons, telemedicine has led to
decreased costs and improved health
care for inmates

Effectiveness of Telemedicine
Medical assistants at the remote sites
may be useful
 Small hospitals and clinics may find
hardware costs prohibitive
 Research studies generally favorable for
medical and cost effectiveness

Use of Telemedicine
Health care to the elderly (homebound)
 Connect rural primary care physicians to
urban specialists
 Allow families of high-risk newborns to
watch babies’ hospital care from home
 Data can be transmitted from
ambulance to ER
 Patients with chronic illnesses can
receive medication reminders at home

Issues in Telemedicine
 Technical
issues
–appropriate telecommunications
infrastructure must be in place
–not available in some rural and
urban areas
–requires high bandwidth (cable
modem)
Issues in Telemedicine

Insurance issues
– insurance may not coverall telemedicine

Legal issues
– licensing laws differ in each state
– liability is not clear

Privacy issues
– electronic medical record subject to misuse
– HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996)