Future of Medical Technology

In my opinion, the continued use of technology, especially computers in medical

procedures will greatly impact the healthcare industry. For instance, computers have
enabled efficient storage of medical information. Medical data is today stored
electronically in form of databases and thus can be easily accessed whenever they are
required. The computer systems are able to store huge amounts of data and information
about the health history of an individual. This has greatly facilitated diagnosis of
recurrent illnesses. Future computer systems that shall be used in healthcare facilities
will undoubtedly overcome the challenges and inefficiencies of the current systems if
appropriate technologies are adopted by healthcare service providers.

According to Eaton and Kennedy, adoption of modern technologies in medicine will

result into more accurate, reliable and rapid diagnosis of illnesses. It will also open up
the medical field for more researches, for example bioengineering techniques (2007).
Use of technology such as internet facilities will enable diagnosis and treatment of
patients from their homes or places of convenience. There shall also be increased
effectiveness and efficiency in monitoring, evaluation and supervision of treatments
offered to patients.

However, great care should be taken when using technology in medicine, for example,
information about patients stored in computer systems should be protected from
hackers and unauthorized individual. This will help in ensuring privacy and
confidentiality of patients. Furthermore, systems such as knowledge work systems or
experts systems used in healthcare services should not be rendered sole power to
control the whole diagnosis and treatment processes. Such systems can only be used
to assist doctors in making decisions. Hill and Summers articulate that the development
and adoption of information and communication technology in healthcare industry has
facilitated efficient management of healthcare services provided (2008). For instance,
computer networks has eased exchange of medical information, ideas and innovations,
and thus improved quality of medical services. Helman asserts that in the near future,
diagnosis of diseases will not be based on the symptoms only but also on detection of
microbiological processes that prompt diseases (2010).

In conclusion, the interaction between technology and medicine has greatly help
increase the quality of healthcare services, disease prevention and treatment. Medical
technology has enabled treatment of world’s deadly diseases such as cancer through
radiation and X-Rays. The cost of treating diseases has also dropped drastically.