Investigative Study of Existing Healthcare Technologies

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discussion and proposed system are in attached document

Online health care systems can greatly benefit from the information and communication
technologies available. However, much of the benefit is derived from identifying the most
appropriate uses and from ingenuity, in finding new ways to utilize existing technologies.
Technology systems may include various applications bundled into one package, or an
application that can function on multiple levels. Regardless of a health care organization's size,
the best information and communications systems are those that can interact with each other
for access in various locations, such as a patient data on the organization's server that can be
transferred to a PDA or other mobile device.
Online health care systems can help deliver health care services that are more efficient
and of higher quality. Having all the patient's information easily accessible in a single source
can give providers a better picture of the patient's overall health, when combined with other
information, such as patient complaints and physical examination. For example, if a patient
arrives very ill in the emergency room and is unable to communicate any medication allergies
or current medications, access to the patient's record within a system can provide such
information. This not only reduces the time a provider may spend in identifying treatment
options, but can even prevent a patient from having an adverse event. Information and
communication technologies can reduce mortality caused by allergic reactions or lethal
drug interactions.
The specific methods of communication within an online health care system can also
help guide providers, by providing a more complete picture of the patient's health status. If,

for instance, a patient has recently suffered a heart attack, a method of communicating this
information within the system, such as with a warning flag or some other notable visual clue,
can provide health care workers with a clue that they should further investigate this prior
event, by checking medication status, laboratory reports and other pieces of related
information. Considering that patients who suffer from heart attacks are more likely to
have a subsequent attack within a short period of time, This type of information communicated
through an online health care system can let the current provider decide if a different or more
intense regimen is needed, when and if the patient does return with repeat symptoms
mimicking those of the first event.
Communications abilities within health care systems are important for a variety of
reasons. Pharmacists for large chain drug stores fought for years to have an integrated and
connected system, so that the incidence of drug interactions could be reduced. Not only is this
a threat when patients fill prescriptions within the same drug store chain, but through other
drug store chains or even in smaller community ...