Technology and Health Care Paper Essay Example for Free

Technology and Health Care Paper Essay Abstract In the todays global world, technology has grown rapidly and there seems to be no signs of it ever slowing down soon. Computer softwares have provided technological advancements in the health care industry. Consultants have become synonymous within the medical practices and community to provide a wide range of innovative ideas that is geared to making any organization thrive. ABC Consultants is a large prestigious organization hired by the Lady of Merced Care home to help develop an innovative approach using their current computer software and technology. This paper will describe the software product recommended by the author. This paper will discuss the impact of this product to the operation and patient care service provided by the care facility. In the end, a discussion regarding the social, ethical, and economic impact of your product, service, or application to the organization will be enumerate in this paper. Technology and Health Care Paper It is hard to imagine a world without computer devices, electronic data transfer of real-time information and high-tech software programs geared for any aspect of any business market. Throughout the years the technology becomes a major part of health industry. Health care has been one of the successful benefactors of these emerging technologies. Terry, N. (2012) made mentioned in his article that, Todays impact on health care is noted in the use of health care beyond the clinic or hospital setting. The Health  Information Technology (IT) has improved medical outcomes and has transformed healthcare delivery. As the demand for technological advancement heightens the competitiveness within the care home facilities become evident. Now days, case workers and potential residents are looking for facilities willing to provide not just great care but just in time collaboration efforts between the care team. Residential care facilities, case managers and patients are aware of the availability of special software used to create and maintain paperless medical records which can allow immediate access to the patients medical history. For the care home facility office this special software can assists in keeping track of the stock of medicines, purchases and sales, billing, charts, and staff information and much more. Storing data collected and medical reports of patients is easier with computers, and with both privacy and environmental concerns being a part of todays world, maintaining the data in computers is a more eco-friendly way of storing this information. Lady of Merced is a residential care facility licensed to care for 15-20 mentally disabled young adults. The facility is licensed and is a vendor of the Regional Center of The East Bay under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health. This highly regulated branch of the health care industry serves to protect not only these disabled individuals patient right as well as their dignity and independence. In order to maintain funding by these entities, data collection regarding various points must be collected and stored. These datas range from consumers individual living skills, training, behavioral episodes and activities to name a few. State compliance records such as fire drills, continuing educations; personnel, payroll and tax information to name a few must also be recorded and kept. Having been in business for over 10 years, Lady of Merced has barely managed to pass the annual compliance audits and even risked having their license revoked on several occasions. This year, the administrator has vowed to ensure that the facility does not get any sanction from the auditors thus Lady of Merced seeked the assistance of the ABC Consulting firm. After an in depth analysis of the situation, ABC consulting firm highly  recommended that Lady of Merced acquire a new software system called NEXT GEN. Next Gen is made by reputable medical software company and is used by facilities and providers in the area. This will ensure that access not only to the internal documents can be achieved but also any outside information can be interfaced with proper authorization and linkage. In the health care field a person who handles the software is called the Administrative information systems support tech. They will be able to manage all financial, demographic information, payroll, financial, client management and human resources easily. Without this software the business may not appear organized and competitive with other care home providers. Technology is vital to the health care industries, but the administrative component is what makes technology work. Without technology it would be hard to visualize the impact of the data gathered by the care givers and providers. There are care home operators owning more than 2 facilities and managing them successful in the midst of the current placement shortages. Their success seems to be attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness of their operation. The successful integration of data collected and status reminders helps build awareness and demand for follow thru. This is important, because it gives care givers more time to focus on the consumers and not the business aspect of the job. Having to remember and hand write all the info rather than using a click of a button can be time consuming and inefficient. This technology gives the medical organization the ability to become paperless by using the Electronic Health Systems or EHS. The paperless technology helps secure patients privacy by making their information less accessible to those who are not privileged into that system. The biggest benefit of this technology is of course money such that pens, paper, and ink cartridges usage will be minimized. This technology can help reduce mistakes by having fewer errors in missed read hard written notes and misspelled prescriptions. Medical records are also easier to get with this technology. This system will help reduce mistakes by making patients notes understandable and also identify the patient easier. Another thing the EHS system implements on being Green. This technology not only helps the facility become more effective, but it helps to depend on less things that damages the world by using hardly any paper. The usage of technology for the human resources department can streamline the hiring, payroll and other labor related compliance required by all the different regulatory agencies. In the past Lady of Merced spent a lot of money due to the high staffing turn-over ratio and outsourcing fees. The management of any workers compensation and labor cost can now become more automated. Now with technology on hand the facility can now see all the recruiting, training, performance evaluations, and staffing planning within reach. There are many care home facilities which uses basic technology, but more and more are upgrading to the next level to become more appealing to a prospective resident. In doing so, program effectiveness is inevitable and increase in revenue can be achieved. As Shi, l. (2012) states Todays medical centers and integrated delivery organizations are among the most complex organizations to manage. Leaders in health care delivery face some unique challenges, including changes in financing and payment structures, as well as having to work with reduced levels of reimbursement. As any technological advancement, one must consider the social, ethical and economical impact this technology would pose. Next Gens economic impact will certainly be felt in the beginning as the organization must invest in the acquisition, training, and maintenance of this new program. There may also be delays with any current billing cycle due to the transition phase. The social and ethical implication this software can bring would certainly be assurance that patient care is not compromised at any cost. Ethically we have an obligation to not only protect but advocate for a normalcy of life for these consumers. We can only ensure that through the knowledge that all data a re submitted and results are achieved through this accurate info. In conclusion, many health care organizations even specialized small facilities such as Lady of Merced Care home are investing in the latest technology in order to keep up with demands of todays competitive globalized industry. This move not only creates but also maintains the competitive edge of the facility by catering the needs of their consumers. Technology strategy does cost, but it does pay when you offer services that  no other medical organization offers. This paper described the software product recommended by the author. This paper discussed the impact of this product to the operation and patient care service provided by the care facility. In the end, a discussion regarding the social, ethical, and economic impact of your product, service, or application to the organization was enumerate in this paper. REFERENCES: Shi, L. (2012). Delivering health care in American: A systems approach. (5th Ed.). Boston, MA: Jones Bartlett. Terry, N (2012), Information Technologys Failure to Disrupt Healthcare. Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Research Paper No. 2012-16. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2118653 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2118653