How does technology affect your health?
Webster’s dictionary defines technology as the use of practical knowledge especially in a particular field. The motivating factor underlying all technological activities is the desire to fulfill a need. Health care technologies are used to prolong human life, to reduce the risk of pain, the risk of disease, and to improve the quality of life of the patient.
These technologies are considered safety technologies
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Medicines: e.g., antibiotics, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, beta-blockers antibiotics
- devices: e.g., pacemakers, CT scanners
- Diagnostic tests: e.g. Fecal DNA test for colorectal cancer, genome sequence
- medical and surgical procedures: e.g., psychotherapy, coronary angiography, gastric banding to weight loss
- Support systems: e.g., electronic patient systems, telemedicine systems,
- Organizational and regulatory systems: e.g., cholesterol program management, billing and accounting.
gene therapy, antibodies
These technologies can be used to prevent disease (eg, immunization, chemoprevention against cancer, nutrigenetics), to screen for disease in asymptomatic people (eg, mammography, colonoscopy, cholesterol testing). for diagnosis (e.g., electrocardiogram, x-ray of broken bones), for treatment of diseases (e.g., gene therapy, biological adjuvants for chemotherapy), i> for < i>rehabilitate (for example, physical-therapy) and help reduce errors. ( electronic medical records, computerized medical records)
How should the art of health be evaluated?
We have to make decisions every day about how to spend our money, e.g. how much we spend on shoes, clothes, food, how much we are going to give to charity. He will make sure that they become healthy. Policy makers must make decisions about which health care technologies to install, drawing from collective resources.
In the US, the cost of health technology has skyrocketed in the past decades. A number of new drugs and procedures cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for routine patients to be prescribed. Obviously, no patients or doctors are denied access to state-of-the-art technology, and although these technologies may improve/prolong survival or improve the quality of life of patients, many emphasis on the system and reducing resources that can be spent on other causes, e.g. preventive medicine After a few resources, it is important to carefully consider the cost-effectiveness of health technology. It reflects the increase in health technology assessment (HTA) demand in the United States.
Health technology assessment is a process designed to “provide decision makers with information about possible impacts and consequences. new technology or a significant change in an old technology.It is concerned about the consequences, both direct and indirect, both the benefits and the uncertainties involved in any government or private use or transfer of the technology.
HTA was first developed in the US, but has gained popularity worldwide. In Britain, National-institutes-of-health”>National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE ) determines whether a new technology will be used in the National Health Service (NHS) in its cost-effectiveness analysis
- Regulatory agencies, e.g. about whether a drug, device or technology is allowed for commercial use
- Health concerns of the treasurer, the providers and the mouse, for example about whether the technology is satisfied.
- Hospitals, legal care
- Government health department officials on public health programs
- Jurisconsults and other political leaders
- Health care product team
- Clinicians and patients
health and health care technology
Often, more field expertise is required to perform HTA. Therefore, HTA can involve a wide range of experts, doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, technicians, biomedical and clinical, pharmacologists, patient and patient business representatives, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, economists, lawyers, social scientists, computer programmers.
References:
Introduction to Health Technology Assessment