Technology and Health Care

Technology and Health Care Paper

Jasmin Virola

HCS/531

January 28, 2013

Georgetta Baptist

Technology and Health Care Paper

Technology has changed healthcare in that it allows the patient to have more access and control over their healthcare. Technology will always have a big impact on health care because new things are always being invented and with this said technology means thing will be going above and beyond to make things better for the community and the pateints that go to different facilities. Telehealth (previously telemedicine)—the use of telecommunications to provide health information and care across distance—has recently reemerged as a potentially effective way to provide general and specialty health care services and appears poised to enter mainstream health service delivery. Because telehealth may become a significant part of the future of health care, it is critical to all professions that it be defined broadly. Barriers to the appropriate development of telehealth must be examined and addressed. Professional psychology's ongoing integrated legislative, legal, marketplace, and consumer education strategies for dealing with recent broader market-driven changes in the health care system provide a solid framework for analyzing and ensuring that psychological practice is poised to manage the opportunities and challenges presented by this emerging field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA. This helps control cost by decreasing inpatient stays and doctors appointments.

 Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technologies to deliver health-related services and information that support patient care, administrative activities, and health education. Telehealth is being trusted as a means to improve access to care, as it decrease thecosts of transportation and increasing convenience to patients in obtaining care. However this is an issue in the nation where physician-to-patient ratios are not at the best level or where there are not enough medical specialists available to meet the nations needs. however, the key component of multifaceted strategies to improve health service delivery is not at the greatest levels yet where as both areas need to make sure the setting will benfit them. areas. When patients are better able to access medical care, they can have acute conditions treated locally, receive treatment for medical problems before they become critical, and receive care to better manage chronic conditions. I believe Telehealth would be a great change because it will impact the health care field for the patients while decreasing health care system costs and increasing opportunities for clinicians. It allows patients to seek care closer to home so they do not need to travel long distances to receive consultations. Telehealth can also cut the amount of time that patients must wait for specialty care. By allowing a primary care physician to be able to manage a condition via telehealth, visits to specialists can be reduced, reducing travel and transports, and reducing patients’ health care utilization.