Largely, due to its regulatory framework, cottage-industry structure and dysfunctional compensation, the healthcare sector has dejectedly underinvested in ICT. Without these essential tools and technologies, many healthcare providers do not have the capacity to transform the expanding stream of therapeutic and diagnostic advances in medical science into affordable and high quality healthcare especially in the care of the chronically ill. Technologies that enable predictable effective therapy and precise diagnosis are those that have the capacity and full potential to transform healthcare through disruption.
Christensen argues that there are two key technological enablers of disruptive innovation in healthcare. One of the enablers is advances in medical knowledge and additional defined medical therapies as well as diagnostics which include procedure, drugs and equipment. Another other technological enabler defined by Christensen is advances in ICT which include wireless integrated Microsystems (WIMS), broadband communications and Web 2.0 applications. Notably, intuitive medicine is found to majorly give way to evidence based medicine when a patient’s treatment is guided by data showing on average where therapeutic interventions are most effective. For instance treatment becomes precision medicine if the precision diagnosis is available and this can be developed to specifically address the causes of the illness rather than the symptoms (Christensen, 2009, p. 37).
Notably, diagnostic technologies have already changed the initial treatment of many contagious diseases from instinctive to precision medicine as most of these diseases can be well diagnosed by a physician. For instance, diseases such as diabetes type 2 treatment require behavioral changes that are seemingly significant. Diabetes mellitus an insidious and a chronic disease affects 7% of the U.S population which reflects to over 20 million Americans. There are antihyperglycemic agents newly developed: exenatide, pramlintide and sitagliptin which offer glycemic control mechanisms beyond insulin and oral ‘traditional’ agents by targeting alternating hormones and glucose-regulatory receptors such as dipeptidy peptidase-4 (DPP-4) Amylin and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP). Christensen notes that many disruptions have three enablers: intuition, the technological enabler that changes a technical problem from an element that requires profound training and iteration to unravel into a problem which could be addressed in a rule-based and also the predictable way.
There are a number of standard methods mentioned by Christensen in regards to the treatment for cancer: chemotherapy, biologic therapy, radiation, surgery and immunotherapy. Chemotherapy is a technology based method for cancer treatment where medicine is used to annihilate cancer cells. Today there are over fifty different types of medication of chemotherapy that are used to treat many different types of cancer. Radiation treatment commonly known as Radiotherapy is the inhibited application of high energy X-rays to treat different types of cancer. Immunotherapy is another method that involves taking of medicines especially in the treatment of kidney cancer to enable the immune system to attack cancerous cells. The targeted or biologic therapy, work through blocking the biological processes of tumors which allow the tumors to grow and thrive. These methods are standard and very effective and are recommended globally. These new technologies have led to the improvement of prostate cancer treatment (Information, 2011, p. 74). Notably, the Calypso technology is a very effective system which aims at removing some side effects of cancer such as radiation. It also allows the doctor to localize the use of radiation and this minimizes its negative effects on nearby body parts. So the patient has fewer side effects when going through the treatment and even for years to come.
There have been notable advances in diabetes particularly in the outpatient technology for glucose measurement which have led to necessary goals in effective intervention and detections. Introduction of devices such as the self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been very useful in the clinical management of diabetic people. It has also served as the foundation in which diabetes complications and control trial were successfully designed and carried out. The continuous glucose monitoring technology which is a new technology has applications in both patient education and diabetes treatment. It is found to enable earlier diagnosis of glucose elevators and diagnosis of diabetes thereby playing a significant role in various occurrences of conditions which are caused by glucose toxicity. This technology has a great impact in transforming the ability of diabetic patients to manage self-therapy and also in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. Despite its effectiveness in the treatment of diabetes to the patients over 40% of these patients still require insulin in order to achieve the desired blood glucose levels. Though seen as very effective there are side effects that follow such as macro and micro vascular complications (Issa, 2013, p. 317).
ICSs that suppress inflammation in the lungs are technology based methods recommended for prophylactic treatment of asthma. There are five corticosteroids used for the treatment of asthma that are available as inhaled formulations. They are: ciclesonide, beclometasone dipropionate, mometasone furoate, fluticasone and budesonide. These have been noted as technology based applications for the treatment of asthma. The side effects of ICSs could be local that is: they may be systematic where they follow absorption into the bloodstream or they could follow deposition in the upper airways. Adverse consequences and effects of this medication include throat irritation, dysphonia, cough and reflex bronchospasm.
References
Christensen, C. M., Grossman, J. H., & Hwang, J. (2009). The innovator's prescription: A disruptive solution for health care. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Issa, T., Isaias, P., & Kommers, P. A. M. (2013). Information systems and technology for organizations in a networked society. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.
Information Resources Management Association. (2011). Clinical technologies: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications. Hershey, PA: Medical Information Science Reference.
