
Health care: It’s time for technology  - baran
http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/health-care-its-time-for-technology/
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TomOfTTB
To me this article shows the problem and not the solution. Think about how he
starts the article. He says...

"Here’s a sobering thought: I can walk into any local car dealership and buy a
$30,000 piece of merchandise, leaving nothing behind but my signature — but if
I show up that same day at the hospital, unconscious after a collision in my
new car, there’s not a soul in that emergency room who will know what
medications I’m taking, what allergies I have or where my living will is
stored."

But then he goes on to list a bunch of technologies that don't fix that
problem (sorry, if you come in unconscious from a car accident the doctor
isn't going to be able to pull up your HealthVault account in the Emergency
Room). The problem with much of the technology currently being put out there
is they aren't looking at the problem and tailoring a solution to it. Instead
they focus on theoretical goals ("Health Care needs Social Media") and no one
ends up using their products.

The truth is Digital Health Care has a lot of hurdles to over come but it's
the stuff that can't be fixed with a fancy website like getting hospitals
wired, creating common formats that medical machines can use to deliver info
and establishing a global identity system so even if you're unconscious you
can be treated properly. All these things require hard work and collaboration
not just slapping technology together on the web.

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baran
Very true. Healthcare is at a point where everyone thinks "Oh if we just added
this..., healthcare would be so much better." This is flawed thinking which
leads to over-spending and products which leave something to be desired.

The only constants are the patients and the physician, therefore technology
should be built around that relationship.

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yason
Technology isn't the silver bullet of health care.

Let's first allocated more time for each patient visit, support long-lasting
patient-doctor relationships that give some perspective to the patient's
health outside the imminent symptoms, and treating patients as complete
psycho-physical beings instead of merely malfunctioning organisms.

Then we can discuss and welcome technology.

~~~
bbgm
Don't disagree with that assertion, but we have to realize that doctors need
technology too. In an age where imaging, more molecular and genetic oriented
diagnostics, etc are going to play a more important role, you need the tech in
place, otherwise you're not going to be able to catch up, both from the
provider side and the patient side.

At our health system just the simple fact that every entry recorded into the
EMR system is available to others, who might not be in the same building makes
the whole process so much more efficient. Now if I could access those records
equally easily (which is where HealthVault etc come up, then we're in even
better shape)

We should all carry ID's with our medical records and diagnostic profile in
them in some form or other. That's also very useful tech and the kind that
EMT's or triage nurses can leveage in emergencies.

There's a lot that's wrong with healthcare, but tech is going to be part of
the mid to long term solution. In the near term there are systemic issues to
be solved, at least in this country

