Technology in Medicine n Computers in health care

Technology in Medicine n 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 n Computer-assisting surgical planning n Robotics n Minimally invasive surgery – endoscopic surgery – laparoscopic surgery

Prosthetic Devices n Myoelectric limbs n Microprocessors n Computer technology for vision and hearing

The Computerized Pharmacy n Computers and drug errors n The automated community pharmacy n Hospital pharmacy robot and barcodes n Point-of-use drug dispensing

Radiology and Digital Imaging n X-rays • Traditional vs. digital x-ray • Mammography Ultrasound n Digital imaging n • 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. ” n Forms: n – Voice – Data – Still images – Motion picture

Telemedicine n Includes: – Diagnoses – Patient monitoring – Treatments

Telemedicine n Telehealth: – Larger field that includes healthrelated education – public health research – health services administration

Telemedicine n 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. n Interactive video conferencing: Conferencing that allows medical professionals and patients to consult in real-time, using telephones and video screens. n

Telemedicine Telepathology: Transmission of microscopic images over telecommunications lines allowing the pathologist to view images on a monitor instead of under a microscope. n Telepsychiatry: Uses teleconferencing to deliver psychotherapy. May not be suitable for some types of mental illness. n

Telemedicine n Remote monitoring devices – Telespironmetryused for asthma patients n information transmitted over telephone lines to remote location n – Arrhythmia monitoring n 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 n In prisons, telemedicine has led to decreased costs and improved health care for inmates n

Effectiveness of Telemedicine Medical assistants at the remote sites may be useful n Small hospitals and clinics may find hardware costs prohibitive n Research studies generally favorable for medical and cost effectiveness n

Use of Telemedicine Health care to the elderly (homebound) n Connect rural primary care physicians to urban specialists n Allow families of high-risk newborns to watch babies’ hospital care from home n Data can be transmitted from ambulance to ER n Patients with chronic illnesses can receive medication reminders at home n

Issues in Telemedicine n 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 n Insurance issues – insurance may not coverall telemedicine n Legal issues – licensing laws differ in each state – liability is not clear n Privacy issues – electronic medical record subject to misuse – HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)