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EFFECTS OFTECHNOLOGY HIKEON HEALTH CARE

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EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY HIKEON HEALTH CARE

Presented to

Ms. Nighat Sultana Rizvi

By

Zubair Ahmed

Farhan Ali

Students of MHM (Saturday)

May 03, 2008

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LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION

May 03, 2008

Dear Reader 

As students of IOBM, we have been authorized to carry out a small scale study on

“Effects of Technology Hike on Healthcare”, by the faculty of the Institute. The

enclosed report contains an overview of technology and its implications in modern

day healthcare.

Those who are interested in exploring more about the subject are more than welcomed

 by us and are advised to feel free to contact us at the following numbers on 10 am to 5

 pm.

Zubair Ahmed: 03332464411

We hope that this report will serve its purpose of being an introductory set of 

information about the aforesaid subject.

Sincerely

Zubair Ahmed

MHM

Institute of Business Management

Karachi

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

May 03, 2008

Ms. Nighat Sultana Rizvi

Institute of Business Management

Korangi Creek 

Karachi

Dear Madam Rizvi

Here I submit the term report on “Effects of Technology Hike on Healthcare”

which you had assigned us for the course which we have attended in

spring 2008 under your instructorship. We are submitting this report to

you as an essential part of the curriculum for the course.

A pharmaceutical industry was visited by our group to explore the views of healthcare

 professionals working in the industry about the subject of our report. Internet was

extensively browsed and group discussions were also carried out within the group to

gather and compile the information being presented in this report.

Should you require any explanation, we would be glad to provide you the required

information.

Sincerely

Zubair Ahmed

MHM

Institute of Business Management

Karachi

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LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

May 03, 2008

Dear Reader 

We would like to convey our inbound gratitude to our instructor for her cooperationextended to us in compiling this report.

Furthermore, we would also like to extend our thanks to Dr. Irfan Michael Roy (Q.C.

Manager of Roche Pakistan Limited) and Mr. Tahir Nabi Mirza (Head of QC/ QA,

Roche Pakistan Limited) for providing us extremely valuable information regarding

implication of Technology in Pharmaceutical Industry and providing us the valuable

information for the compilation of this report.

Sincerely

Zubair Ahmed

MHM

Institute of Business Management

Karachi

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER OF AUTORIZATION……………………………………………ii

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL…………………………………………….iii

LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDEMENT……………………………………..iv

EXCUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………………..v

IINRODUCTION TO TECHNOLOGY.....………………………...………8

IINRODUCTION TO HEALTHCARE…………………………………….9

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD...…………………………………….11The Criteria for an Electronic Health Record.................................. 11

 Electronic Health Record Vision.......................................................11

MODELIING OUTCOMES FROM A SIMPLE TO A COMPLEX

VISION OF THE EHR..................................................................................12

 Economic Benefit ...............................................................................12

Clinical Benefit ..................................................................................13

TIMELY ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE.......................................................14

 Demand ..............................................................................................14

Supply.................................................................................................15

Communication..................................................................................15

TECHNLOGY AND FUTURE OF THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY......16Visit to Roche Pakistan Limited ..........................................................16

RISING COST OF TREATMENT.................................................................17

BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY....19

BIBLOGRAPHY.............................................................................................20

LISTS OF FIGURES

Figures

1. Packaging of Pharmaceutical Products.......................................................10

2. State of the Art Lab Equipment for Analysis of the

Pharmaceutical Products.................................................................................10

LISTS OF TABLE

Table

1. Health Status by Income Level....................................................................19

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EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to provide a comparison of benefits and drawbacks associated with

use & increasing implication of technology in health care, especially in hospitals &

 pharmaceutical industries. The report will focus on evaluating those technology driven factors

which play a vital role in either increasing or decreasing the productivity and efficiency of health

care providers. The scope of the report will be limited to provision of valuable information

regarding dependency of health care services on technology and it will not focus on mentioning

historical backgrounds & evolution of technologies presently used in the health care sector. The

report is intended to be significant for health care professionals in terms of increasing their 

knowledge of technology and health care coordination and it will help them to realize that

keeping abreast with technology updates and identifying their appropriate use in the provision of  better health solutions is of acute importance.

Effect of Technology Hikes in Health Care

In an era in which technology and health care go hand in hand, it is presumed that technological

advancements have given health care a whole new direction in terms of increased patient

awareness & access to seek health care, ease for medical professionals & pharmaceuticals to

 provide better health solutions and drift of pharmaceutical industries towards biotech products

from conventional medicines. Besides all these blessings of technology there are certain

difficulties associated with its increasing implication in health care. Rising costs of treatment,

increasing self diagnosis, effect on national economies are some common examples in this

context.

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INTRODUCTION OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species usage and knowledge of tools 

and crafts, and how it affects a species ability to control and adapt to its environment.

In human society, it is a consequence of  science and engineering, although several

technological advances predate the two concepts. Technology is a term with origins in

the Greek  "technologia", "τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia",

" λογία" ("saying").[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to

material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can

also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of  organization, and

techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples

include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art 

technology".

The human race's use of technology began with the conversion of plentiful natural

resources into simple tools. The prehistorically discovery of the ability to control fire 

increased the available sources of food, and the invention of the wheel helped humans

in traveling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments,including the  printing press and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to

communication and allowed humans to interact on a global scale. However, not all

technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-

increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear  

weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many

societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's

global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. However, many

technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as  pollution, and

deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various

implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology

raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in

terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the

challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in

society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition 

or worsens it. Neo-luddism and similar movements criticized the pervasiveness of 

technology in the modern world, claiming that it alienates people and destroys culture;

  proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view

continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.

The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear.

Generally, science is the reasoned investigation or study of nature, aimed at

discovering enduring principles among elements of the  phenomenal world by

employing formal  techniques such as the scientific method. However, technologies

are not usually direct products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements

such as utility, usability and safety; therefore the application of scientific knowledge

to concrete purposes requires the contribution of engineering research. Engineering is

the goal-oriented process of designing and building tools and systems to exploit

natural phenomena for practical human means, using results and techniques from

science.1.  ‘’Definition of technology.’’ Merriam-Webster <.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster >

(Retrieved on 17 March 2008).

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The development of technology broadly involves the use and application of 

knowledge, such as scientific, engineering, mathematical,  linguistic, and historical 

knowledge, to achieve some practical result. It is usually a consequence of science

and engineering — although technology as a human activity has preceded the two

fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors,

 by utilizing already-existing specialist technology and knowledge. This new-foundknowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as

semiconductors,  computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense,

scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are

often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference.[1]

In the modern world, superior technologies, resources, geography, and history give

rise to robust economies; and in a well-functioning, robust economy, economic excess

naturally flows into greater use of technology.

INTRODUCTION OF HEALTHCARE

Healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the

 preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the

medical, nursing, and allied health professions.[2] According to the World Health 

Organization, health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote

health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed

to individuals or to populations”.[3] The organized provision of such services may

constitute a health care system. This can include a specific governmental organization

such as, in the UK, the  National Health Service or cooperation across the National

Health Service and Social Services as in Shared Care. Before the term "healthcare"

 became popular, English-speakers referred to medicine  or to the  health sector  and

spoke of the treatment and prevention of illness and disease.The healthcare industry is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing industries.

Consuming over 10 percent of  gross domestic product of most developed nations,

health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy. In 2003, health care

costs paid to hospitals,  physicians, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories,

 pharmacies, medical device manufacturers and other components of the health care

system, consumed 15.3 percent of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any

country in the world. In 2001, for the OECD countries the average was 8.4 percent

with the United States (13.9%), Switzerland (10.9%), and Germany (10.7%) being the

top three.

There are many ways of providing healthcare in the modern world. The most commonway is face-to-face delivery, where care provider and patient see each other 'in the

flesh'. This is what occurs in general medicine in most countries. However, healthcare

is not always face-to-face; with modern telecommunications technology, in absentia health care is becoming more common. This could be when practitioner and patient

communicate over the phone, video conferencing, the internet, email, text messages,

or any other form of non-face-to-face communication.

1. ‘’Intute: Science, Engineering and Technology.’’ Technology War 

< http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences > (Retrieved on 15 March 2008).

2. ‘’ Definition of Health Care.’’ Encyclopedia of Public Health

<http://www.answers.com/library/Public+Health+Encyclopedia-cid-37082 > (Retrieved on 15 March

2008).3. World Heath Organization Report, 2000 Annual Report. Why do health systems matter 

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A traditional view is that improvements in health result from advancements in

medical science. The medical model of health focuses on the eradication of  illness 

through diagnosis and effective treatment. In contrast, the social model of health

 places emphasis on changes that can be made in society and in people's own lifestyles

to make the population healthier. It defines illness from the point of view of theindividual's functioning within their society rather than by monitoring for changes in

 biological or  physiological signs.

Pack ing of Pharmaceutical Products

St ate of the Art Lab Equipment for Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Products

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ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD

In his 2004 State of Union Address, President Bush noted: “By computerizinghealth records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistake,reduce cost, and improve car .” This statement has been applauded by

many who recognize that electronic health records (EHRs) represent a huge

opportunity to improve patient care and health system operation. However, efforts to

achieve an EHR have represented a long journey from early visions to today’s reality

of possibility. The EHR is not a simple computer application; it represents a carefully

constructed set of systems that are highly integrated and require:

•A significant investment of time,

•Money,

• process change, and

•Human factor reengineering.

The Criteria for an Electronic Health Record

The Computerized Patient Record Institute, now the part of Health Information and

Management System Society (HIMSS), identified three key criteria for an EHR. The

electronic health record must:

• Integrate data from multiple sources

• Capture data at the point of care

• Support caregiver decision making 

Electronic Health Record Vision

EHRs may not yet be as widely implemented as the Institute of Medicine (IOM)

would have desired, but the IOM vision remains firm. The IOM vision for EHR 

remained committed to the use of IT for number of purposes including:

 

• To document all episodes of healthcare whenever take place.

• To provide immediate access to data.

• To process data in verity of ways to support better decision making for patient

care and clinical and health service research.

• To increase the efficiency of Healthcare organizations and decrease the cost of 

service.

• To ensure the confidentiality of data

• To improve the quality of care and promote the wellness of the population.

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MODELING OUTCOMES FROM A SIMPLE TO A COMPLEX

VISION OF THE EHR 

IMPACT OF EHR ON HEALTH

Economic Benefit:

• Cost Saving or Cost Avoidance. 

 Not having to expand the file area to house more paper chart.

Avoiding staff recruitment costs because the EHR has improved staff 

retention.

Avoid the cost of a specialty care referral when primary care physicianuse rules-based decision support.

Aggregation of Data

Data Outreach

Documentation of Care

Longitudinal Data

Decision Support

Data Messaging, Clinical Workstation, Work Flow

Changes

Access to Data

User interface Support, Automatic Data Capture,

Controlled Vocabulary, and Structured Data Entry.

Links Knowledge Sources, Rules Engine,

Integration with Care Process.

Research Epidemiology/Public Health

Consumer Health Information, Vertical Private

 Network, Competitive Positioning.

Multidisciplinary Care Pathways, EnterpriseSystems

Continuum of Care

Result Reporting, Document Imaging, Data

Repository

Availability of data

Operational cost saving

Operational cost impact

Improved cost of care

Improved service efficiency

Improved patient outcomes

Improved service quality

Cost of care improvements.

Quality of care improvement

Patient/ provider satisfaction

Improved quality of life

Enhanced productivity

Better economic conditions

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Avoid the cost of repeat diagnostic studies when results are

unavailable.

 Not having to hire additional telephonic receptionists as patient volume

increases.

Avoiding more expensive medications through presentation of cost-

effective alternatives.

• Revenue Increase and Contributions to Profit. 

File Room takes considerable space by converting it to suite of offices

and examining rooms for a new physician generate additional revenue.

Increasing the of annual physical examinations through an automated

reminder system or booking aftercare at the time of discharge, which is

likelier to secure the follow up visit than if the were left to schedule the

appointment at a later time.

• Productivity Improvements

Point-of-care charting improves the productivity by reducing the

amount of dictation, which contributes to cost savings in transcription

time.

Reduced time tracking diagnostic study results may improve physician

 productivity by freeing the physician to see an additional patient each

day, which has the potential to increase revenue.

Clinical Benefit:• Better Access to Clinical Information. 

Information immediately accessible in the emergency department can

ensure the patients’ chronic conditions and current medication are

readily available.

Clinical information that is always available can provide a much more

effective picture of a patient’s health history.

 

• Improved Clinical Decision Making and Disease Management.

Reminder of adverse drug event at the point of care reduces the

number of hypertensive patients taking non recommended medication.

• More Tailored Patient Education.

Although many providers Keep a supply of a wide variety of 

intuitional handouts available to give their patients, the EHR can not

only generate the handout as need, but also can incorporate a patient’s

specific medications and other information that may be unique to his or 

her situation.

• More Time with Patients.

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Many of the above benefit converge to impact work flow and hence

contribute to spend more time with patient, improved care, and

improved quality of life for both patients and caregivers.

TIMELY ACCESS TO HELTHCARE

(Facilitated by Innovative Technologies)

 Timely access to healthcare services is a priority for any health careinstitution. To achieve a healthcare system that is able to respondwith the right service, by the right provider, at the right timerequires a comprehensive and coordinated approach.

Development of a strategy to improve access to services will help toguide efforts in achieving a service delivery system that strives for

excellence in quality and patient safety. In February 2003, theDepartment of Health and Office of Health Promotion (now theDepartment of Health Promotion and Protection, USA) jointlyreleased a document entitled Your Health Matters: WorkingTogether Toward Better Care. The document highlighted theimportance of wait time information and outlined proposed plans forgovernments to monitor wait times and improve access in ruralareas.

Broader than the national focus on cancer and cardiac care, sightrestoration, joint replacement and diagnostic imaging, Pakistangovernment has increased activity to improve access to programsand services across the continuum of healthcare including, but notlimited to, mental health, primary healthcare (collaborativehealthcare practices), pain management, chronic disease preventionand management, renal dialysis and continuing care.

Efforts to improve timely access will need to build on currentstrategies and activities; improve existing programs and services;implement new processes, programs and services, technologicalsolutions and provincial standards; and, strategically invest in

infrastructure and human resources.

 Timely access to service is complex and is influenced by the balancebetween the demand and supply for that service. Reviewing theseinfluencing factors provides additional information in determiningthe focus of strategies and activities.

Demand

Disease prevalence – the higher the prevalence of a particulardisease or condition the greater the demand will be for the services

required to diagnose and treat that condition. Support for thetechnologies and resources required for epidemiologic and otherresearch will enhance the ability of the system to respond to the

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specific needs of the population. In addition, strategic investment inhealth promotion, disease prevention, and disease managementstrategies will reduce the burden of illness in the population and thedemand for accessible, quality services. Physician referral practices- referrals that are not necessary add volume to wait lists andlengthen wait times.

• Physician’s threshold for performing procedures – physicianindividually determines the need for performing a diagnostictest or procedure. A standardized approach to patientassessment will ensure equitable access across the province.

• Patient preference - physicians for whom there is a greaterdemand are likely to have longer wait times. Patients aremore likely to endure these longer waits to ensure they seetheir physician of choice.

• Emergency Cases - greater numbers of emergency cases or adecrease in the threshold of what is considered an emergencycase will result in cancellations of elective cases and increasewait times.

• Wait times - long wait times can act as a deterrent in seekinga particular service and thereby prevent the wait time fromlengthening.

Supply

Human Resources – health human resources are needed to operateand manage facilities, equipment and technology, as well as toprovide direct delivery services. Within the context of globalcompetition, recruiting and retaining the appropriate humanresources to support the system is an ongoing challenge.

• Creating the right mix of health human resources is critical increating an efficient system from the first point of contact todischarge, follow-up, and continuing care.

• Facilities, Equipment and new Technologies – within the ever-changing world of architecture, engineering and technology, itis an ongoing challenge to provide the most up-to-datefacilities, equipment and technology that will provide thehighest quality services that contribute to improved healthstatus of the population.

• Strategically investing in facilities, equipment, and newtechnology is critical to stay up-to-date with current trendsand to improve timely access to quality services that focus on

patient care, safety, and outcomes.

• Organization – in the complex world of healthcare, acoordinated system of processes, procedures, and practices

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will facilitate timely access across the system. Creating aseamless transition between and among programs andservices will contribute greatly to the quality and safety of service delivery.

Communication

Communication is critical to supporting timely access to services,including communication with and among health care professionals,with patients, and with the public.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE

INDUSTRIES

The pharmaceutical industry is highly complex. The technologies leading to drug

discovery and development are at the limits of human knowledge. The huge size of 

the companies and the complexities of their processes and technologies presents manyorganisational and management challenges. The development and management of the

distribution system is highly costly. However while excellence in managing all these

aspects of the industry is a necessary condition for the survival of the global

  pharmaceutical companies, the uncertainty of the discovery process and the

 potentially huge returns from the discovery of a single drug means that like drilling

for oil or randomly choosing the black beans from a jar of overwhelmingly white

ones, success in the industry depends on a high measure of luck.

Much of the thinking about business strategy in the industry is how best to cope with

this uncertainty. This has not always been the case. Colonel Ely Lilly gained his initial

competitive advantage, in manufacturing, by producing ‘true to label’ products incompetition with the various ‘snake oils’ and other dubious concoctions of the era.

The highly skewed nature of the returns from the drug discovery and development

 process means that a single drug can deliver corporate success at least in the short to

medium term.

Visit to Roche Pakistan Limited

Roche is a huge global Pharmaceutical and Bio Tech organization head quartered in

Switzerland. The business of the company is across the globe in almost all continents

with major manufacturing sites in Basel, Shanghai, Dee Why, Karachi and Dhaka.

The group of the students visited Roche Pakistan Limited situated in KorangiIndustrial Area, Karachi. The group was entertained by the Manufacturing Manager of 

the company Mr. Asif Mansoor. Production Department, Quality Assurance &

Control and Warehouse were visited by the group. The production department is

equipped with state of the art manufacturing equipment having a dedicated facility for 

the Alcoholic Granulation of chewable vitamin tablets. These tablets are called

draggers and they fall in the non-prescription type of medicines also known as OTC

 products (over the counter products). The facility is called “Moretz” and consists of 

steam jacketed vessel, a huge condenser and a vacuum system. The facility is

designed to recycle the alcohol used in the granulation process to cut down the

manufacturing costs and generate more revenues with less expenditure.

The Lab of the company is also furnished with some of the most modern laboratory

equipments. These equipments are used in the testing of raw materials, finished and

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intermediate products. The lab is equipped with instruments like HPLC, Atomic

Absorption Spectrometer & FTIR etc. Talking to the students QC Manager Dr. Irfan

Michael Roy said,

“Marketing pharmaceutical products without a full scale

investigation regarding their quality is nothing less than putting 

thousands of lives at risk. The physician ensures that the  patients get the right kind of treatment and we perform an

equally critical role by ensuring that the product being taken by

the patients is risk free and is in strict accordance with the

 standard manufacturing guidelines set by the authorities like

FDA.” 

The Head of QC / QA of Roche Pakistan Limited Mr. Tahir Nabi Mirza expressed his

views in the context of implication of Technology in Healthcare in the following

words.

“Competitive and technological changes in the pharmaceutical industry-from powerful new drug chemistries to innovative R&D

 partnerships and marketing plans-are reshaping the business

  strategies of many pharmaceutical and biotechnology

companies.

 According to me many companies today are searching for ways

to increase productivity, decrease costs, and develop new 

treatment modalities that will enhance profitability. Strategies

that seem to be working best for successful pharmaceutical and 

biotech companies when it comes to the productivity of drug 

discovery and the time it takes to develop new drugs; investment in R&D projects; manufacturing processes; and OTC switching.

The benchmarks that you can use to compare your company

 practices are drug discovery, clinical trials, and manufacturing 

metrics to those of the most successful companies.

These are among the issues which we will explore in "The New 

 Millennium Pharmaceutical Industry.” In addition to exploring 

  strategic issues in pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D,

manufacturing, drug development, costs of capital, and the

economics of new pharmaceutical marketplaces, companies

 should look at the prospects for changes in regulatory policies

and competition.” 

RISING COST OF TREATMENT

(Heightened Divide in Health Status of Different Communities)

As health care costs have gone up, it is increasingly important to make sure we are

realizing the full value of the new medical technologies that we create. Maximizing

our public health gains and our economic gains from new medical technology also

requires that we encourage high value innovations and also realize more value from

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the products that we use. This is important for the future, because while the cost of 

new medical technologies may continue to rise, the potential benefits of new

treatments could grow even more dramatically.

We must find better ways to increase value, to keep modern care affordable, while

still encouraging medical innovation. With these unprecedented technologicalachievements have also come unprecedented concerns about the total spending on

healthcare and, in particular, about the rising spending on these new medical

technologies. Many worry that, even if these new technologies come along, they will

not benefit because they will not be able to afford the high cost. While we need to

take new steps to address the problem of health care affordability, we need to do it

carefully. We must address this issue in a way that will not risk the tremendous

 potential for public health and economic benefits from continuing medical innovation

  by putting significant new limits on the payments or the intellectual property

 protections of innovative treatments that have made it through an increasingly long

and costly development process.

Growing costs of healthcare is also a huge concern for governments of developing

countries. This has heightened the divide between the health statuses of various

communities and is putting an increasing impact on governments to find ways of 

containing the costs of healthcare so that the latest medical technologies could be

equally provided to people belonging to the low income groups. The facilities

  provided by public healthcare institutions are well below the level of facilities

 provided by the private healthcare organizations. The poorer populations are finding it

extremely difficult to afford the healthcare costs even if it’s only preventive primary

healthcare. Curative healthcare is far beyond the reach of these poor people in

developing countries. NGOs are playing a very vital role in order to reduce this

heightened divide by developing institutions which provide healthcare at more

affordable terms for the low income populations.

Sky rocketing costs of healthcare is now not only the problem of developing countries

 but developed countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand are also having the

difficulty of this heightened divide in the context of health status. The following table

gives a good picture of the current disparity of health status in these developed

countries.

Health Status by Income Level

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DO THE BENEFTS OF TECHNOLOGY WEIGH ITS

DRAWBACKS ON HEALTH CARE?

The answer to the above question is perhaps an emphatic YES. Despite association of 

certain drawbacks with the use of mind boggling technology in healthcare its

advantages still out weigh the drawbacks. Be it Information Technology, Electronics,

Telecommunication or anything else, healthcare is probably the area which has benefited the most with the advent of modern technology. Increased awareness of the

 physicians, surgeons or other healthcare professionals has been a blessing for those

who are suffering from diseases either it is chronic, non-chronic or life threatening.

However use of a specific technology may cause complications when treating a

certain problem but thanks to huge amount of information available for the doctors

through they have become able to minimize the anticipated effects of treatments over 

their patients.

On the contrary the use of technology has created some social problems in almost

every part of the world, be it developed countries or underdeveloped parts of the

globe. These Socioeconomic problems include the disparities in health statusdepending upon the income levels of the people which have been discussed in the

earlier part of the report.

All in all the connection between technology and healthcare is so strong now that it

has evolved the term “Healthcare Technology”, which is a complete science in itself 

is and it is still on the go on its way to limits which are perhaps beyond the

imagination of the existing human race.

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Bibliography

‘’Definition of technology.’’ Merriam-Webster 

<.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster > (Retrieved on 17 March 2008).

‘’Intute: Science, Engineering and Technology.’’ Technology War 

< http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences > (Retrieved on 15 March 2008).

‘’Definition of Health Care.’’ Encyclopedia of Public Health

<http://www.answers.com/library/Public+Health+Encyclopedia-cid-37082 >

(Retrieved on 15 March 2008).

World Heath Organization Report, 2000   Annual Report. Why do health systemsmatter?

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Other References:

1. http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr05/nhdr05.pdf 

2. http://www.pwcglobal.com/uk/eng/about/svcs/insights/pharma/pwc_sect2col.pdf 

3. www.eweek.com/category2/0,1738,1478354,00.asp

4. content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/25/6/w516.pdf 

5.www.healthcarevox.com/technology_and_healthcare

6.www.ser.com/xres/uploads/documents/Understanding_the_Benefits_of_Speech_An

alytics_Solutions.pdf 

7. ww.medicine.uottawa.ca/epid/pdf/EPI%205189%20fall%2006%20