Introduction
Health care providers depend on technology more now than in the past. Health care facilities are changing to electronic medical records, participating in videoconferencing to exchange health information, utilizing remote health care services remotely as in telemedicine (Health Care Business Technology, 2014). The use of mobile technologies like smartphones and tablets are beneficial to the patient and health care provider. The use of the internet is also useful to health care providers and the patient. The application of health care technology can help improve the quality of life for the patient by improving access to health care in rural communities. …show more content…
The goal for the technology is to enhance patient outcomes, increase patient’s quality of care and improve patient safety. The computer has become a tool for documentation in patients’ medical records. The ability to care for a patient and acquire only a few pieces of paper is astonishing. The hand written paper medical record is being replaced by an electronic health record (EHR). The rolling storage shelves is replaced by electronic storage or servers. These servers are digital repositories where multiple individuals can access vital information. Patients have access to portions of their medical records and other facilities gaining access to vital patient information to improve patient care. “Most medical records are still stored on paper, which means that they cannot be used to coordinate care, routinely measure quality, or reduce medical errors”(Health care Business Technology, 2014). The comprehensive adoption of the EMR will lead to health care savings, a reduction in medical errors, and improvement in health. Sadly, the United States have been slow to adopt the EMR and trails behind other …show more content…
The technologies of the EMR allows for easy access by other facilities with the same EMR. Telemedicine and Teleradiology provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. The benefits are noticed especially where resources such as a cardiologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist are limited or absent. A drawback for telemedicine can be the patient may feel uncomfortable with the new technology. Most patients admitted to the rural facility of this individual’s employment are Medicare age. The downside of the many forms of internet access for patients to use at home in rural communities is the lack of the internet access, families do not own computers and they do not know how to access the