5 Ways That Technology is Changing Healthcare

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Things that may become the future of healthcare.

The world of Healthcare is constantly changing and adapting to new technologies. In fact, since the early days of medicine, people were constantly researching and looking for new ways to treat illnesses and manage healthcare needs.

Some treatments worked, like drinking Willow Bark tea for pain relief, which eventually led to the manufacturing of aspirin. Others ended up not working as well or having unseen side effects, like Bayer Pharmaceuticals creating and marketing Heroin as a cough suppressant.

This constant state of adaptation is even more true in the digital age. As technology continues to advance and the world becomes more plugged in, there will be new changes and challenges that the industry will face. In fact, some of the changes are happening already.

Here are 5 challenges the healthcare industry will face in the coming years:

• Electronic health records - There is currently a huge push to get physicians to implement electronic health records. In fact, the government is currently giving physicians who use these digital records a $44,000 incentive. All medical offices in the country have to have this program in place by 2012 in order to take advantage of the incentive. Converting patient records over to an electronic system will take a lot of work, depending on the size of the practice, but it allows patients and their doctors to have better, easier access to their entire healthcare history.

• Making record sharing easier - Right now, if you want to visit a different doctor or move to a new area, it is your responsibility to take your medical records with you. New services are being implemented to make this process easier by letting your medical records be moved between healthcare providers. All that the patient will have to do is grant access to the records to a new provider. By simplifying the process, medical professionals will be able to have the patients' complete records more quickly in order to provide the best care.

• Cataloging the genomic signature of patients - It it expected that over the course of the next 10 to 20 years, patients will have their genes sequenced early on and will then have tier medical care structured around their unique genetic needs. Genetic testing is available already, but the high cost prohibits making it a routine test. Currently this type of testing is essential in treating life threatening diseases like cancer. Although this type of genetic study has many medical benefits, there are many privacy issues that will have to be considered. Many people would be against the idea of making this type of information mandatory, because even though medical records are private, all it would take is a new law or security breach in order to have access to a huge database of genetic information. Even still, it's certain that in the future, digital genomic sequencing will become commonplace.

• More possibilities for online health management - The internet makes it much easier for people to keep track of and be accountable for their own health. As medical care goes increasingly more digital, patients will be able to use their mobile devices or computers to keep track of chronic conditions, help them stick to a diet regime and will report those results to their medical care provider.

• Physicians will be paid for keeping patients healthy rather than treating their illnesses - Some health insurance programs are already instituting this change. Currently, doctors are paid for treating their sick patients so there isn't a financial incentive for keeping them healthy. In the future (and already with some insurance programs) physicians will be paid for their patients continued good health. The idea is that medical care professionals will be more inclined and motivated to help people stay healthy and will work with them to come up with individual plans to help them manage any chronic illnesses.

Some of these changes are already in the early stages, while some will require more technology before they become a reality. Still, it is an exciting time to be a healthcare professional. Those who are working at the beginning of such a huge overhaul have the chance to truly make a difference by helping save lives and improve the quality of medical care for decades to come.

What do you think about these high tech changes? Do you think that there will be many more challenges and changes? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for HealthcareJobsiteBlog. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.