Technology implementation in the contemporary world has resulted to improvement of products and services in every field that it is applied. These are the same case in the U.S where improved technology has fostered positive changes and improvements in every industry that it is implemented. However, technology in the health industry in the U.S has lagged behind due various reasons as discussed below.
The leading reasons as to why technology in U.S has not been adopted as compared to other industrialized nations are; high costs associated with the implementation of technology and slower adoption of technology. To address the issue relating to the high cost of technology, insurers should be enabled to bargain for lower cost of the health technology by the issue of patent rights being addressed. To address the issue of slow technology adoption efficient administration should be ensured, and innovations including “Real time claims adjudication” supported (Surkunte, 2014).
The technology used in the local health facility is the telehealth. They help in delivering health care and information to people at a far distance. It can be applied in teleradiology to send lab results to a distant facility for further and detailed diagnosis. It has helped to increase the level of satisfaction among the patients; reduced costs incurred by the patients in traveling, and increase the quality of the health services (Baker, 2012). It has increased monitoring of patients while at home resulting to positive outcomes. The services can be improved through creation of awareness about its usage among the people, development of technology that is compatible and easy to use with it, and making it affordable to most of the people (HRSA, 2014). Technology usage has been witnessed to improve services and products in most cases when adopted. Therefore, the government and other organization should encourage its usage and provide an environment fostering its adoption and application.
References
HRSA. (2014, October 19). What is telehealth? Retrieved from http://www.hrsa.gov/healthit/toolbox/RuralHealthITtoolbox/Telehealth/whatistelehealth.html
Surkunte, A. (2014, January 23). Healthcare Reform Magazine Technology Innovation, US Healthcare, and Health Reforms. Retrieved from http://www.healthcarereformmagazine.com/article/technology-innovation-us-healthcare.html
Baker, J. D. (2012). Nursing informatics. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders
