David BattleAdvanced Health Info

Connecting With HIT

NEW TECHNOLOGY

The health information technology field is a rather new industry as healthcare has recently started transitioning into the digital age. New technology is created every day for this field at an accelerated rate as it plays catch up to every other industry. Today’s technology includes things like web and mobile applications that assist patients in diagnosing themselves and managing their records. Also other technology exists such as vending machines that dispense medicine for patients. Of this new technology there are a few that I believe will have a greater than impact than others.

Instymeds otherwise known as the prescription medication dispenser is a technology that allows patients to receive medicine from a doctor’s office 7 days a week 24 hours a day. It’s for patients who can’t make it to the pharmacy at that moment so the machine will provide a small amount of medicine for them until they can make it to the pharmacy and get a full prescription. If a refill is needed the patient can take their empty InstyMeds bottle to the pharmacy and a refill will be provided. The machine has the security of an ATM which will protect against theft. It has simple instructions that the patient will follow on the touchscreen. The patient then inserts their card and the medicine is dispensed. Before the patient can receive the medicine it has to be sent electronically through ePrescribe which is just an electronic way to send prescriptions. The provider can also print out an InstyMeds order form that the patient can take to the machine and enter the code along with their date of birth. InstyMeds also accepts private and public insurance so if the patient has insurance they can use it to pay for their medicine.

Robotics have been thought to be the next major player in healthcare but there has yet to be any serious breakthroughs where it could prove beneficial to a patient. Recently a new study on brain-computer-interface (BCI) was done by the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. The study involves a robotic arm with seven axes of movement and Jan Scheuermann

a quadriplegic of over nine years. Her brain was implanted with two quarter-inch square electrode grids. The electrodes have 96 tiny contact points for the area of the brain that controls the right arm and hand movement. The electrodes pick up the signals sent by the brain and moves according to whatever she is thinking. It took a year of practice for her to be able to move it freely. In the picture you can see the

patient eating a candy bar held by the robotic arm.

Watson, a supercomputer created by IBM, can very well be the new beacon of light for studies done on cancer. Watson is a collection of 90 IBM Power 750 servers. It has the ability to process the data of 1 million books, analyze what it has looked at, and then give a precise answer in less than 3 seconds. Its artificial intelligence system will study textbooks, oncology studies, and medical records with the permission of patients. It’s essentially a decision support system taken to a whole new level where basically it does all the thinking and decides the best solution based on the studies conducted. The new technology has been proven efficient by winning a game of the popular game show Jeopardy. IBM and WellPoint, a health insurer, signed a deal to use Watson as a DSS to increase the quality of patient care and decrease the associated costs.

REVOLUTIONIZING HEALTHCARE WITH BCI

Imagine a world where long-time paraplegics, fallen soldiers, and the effects of naturally occurring diseases like Polio don’t exist. The brain-computer-interface has the ability to completely change the industry of healthcare and the life for individuals who cannot control their limbs anymore. With more research and funding this technology could erase the misfortunes of these individuals and give them a second chance at life. Right now the University of Pittsburgh only has an arm but I could imagine people like Jan in full body suits walking around like normal humans with simply thinking the thoughts of humans with regular functioning bodies. The threat of paralysis would no longer be a threat. Soldiers, the people who risk their lives and return home with blown off limbs, would have the ability to be mobile once more. There would be no limit to what this technology could accomplish. I do not know if this technology would cut costs which seem to be the only focus of the health field these days but it’s not always about money. Sometimes it’s about helping people and this technology has the potential to make a huge difference in healthcare. All the technology listed above has the ability to make a difference in healthcare each taking their own direction and making a great impact.

POTENTIAL DANGERS OF BCI

There are a few concerns with the use of this technology. The most important danger of this technology would be the misuse of it if it were successful. If people had the strength of a machine they could potentially use it to do harm to others or commit other crimes. Wearing a metal suit on would make the person harnessing it nearly invincible compared to normal humans. There’s also a chance that the machine could malfunction and cause damage to the patient. As I see it though that really wouldn’t be much of a factor because I don’t think things could get much worse than the current condition the person is already in.

THE BIG PICTURE

THE NEW PICTURE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Health Information Technology is growing industry providing jobs, new innovations, and an opportunity to improve the overall quality of healthcare. With the development of new technology such as Watson, a new type of DSS by IBM, which uses artificial intelligence to diagnose and provide solutions for cancer patients as well as other technology that uses robotics. The new robotics technology uses a brain-computer-interface method to collect brain signals and use them to control the movements of the robotic arm. There’s also other technology already being used by doctors in their offices like InstyMeds which medicine dispensing machine they keep on site for patients to receive medicine immediately after their appointment. Though I’ve mentioned these technologies I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the available technology that’s helping move the healthcare field towards the ultimate goal of good quality healthcare for a low price.

Since the introduction of technology into the health field the government’s aim was to decrease the amount of spending on healthcare while increasing the quality of the care given. Using the Big Picture as model to show how the implementation of technology into healthcare will progress the government had a slight miscalculation of how things would turn out. They had a great idea but didn’t account for the small but most important things such as compatibility between EMR systems and the adoption of the new system. With adoption missing from the equation the progress of the Big Picture has slowed to a turtle’s pace. As I analyzed the old system I used my experience and knowledge to introduce a New Picture Model that I think would work a little better than the old model. It has 4 steps with first developing a EHR system that promotes compatibility between all systems no matter which company made it. The most important part which I believe the first model failed at was promoting knowledge of the new system. This includes teaching patients and providers about the benefits of adopting the system and how to use the system for the betterment of healthcare. As the system is perfected costs will start to decrease and quality will increase. As

Adopt EHR Systems

Promoting Information

Exchange

Promote Consumer

Knowledge of New Systems

Work Towards Cutting Costs of Using the New

System

Spread the Knowledge of the Perfected System

Nationally

things are perfected the new method can be spread out across the nation. This method would work in the perfect world but since the world isn’t perfect there could be a few snags. Even with those few snags it would work better than the old model has.