Future Trends in Health Care
Justine Hunt
HCS/533
September 9, 2013
Tonya Cheek
Future Trends in Health Care
Clinical decisions reflect the electronic world we live in more than ever. The electronic health record (EHR) is quickly replacing the traditional paper chart. In the United States by the 2014, medical records will be converted to an EHR. Medical records were converted over a ten- year period in the United Kingdom from traditional charting to EHR. The electronic age is here and with it new terminology. Electronic Health (E-health) describes many topics from the EHR to several systems and new subspecialties. Telemedicine has grown to include many activities within the electronic realm. The Internet and external delivery sources are quickly gaining favor for follow up care and rural medicine visits. Patients’ no longer have to wait or drive far distances to see their physician they can simply go to an outpatient clinic and visit the physician via videoconference using SKPE like technology.
Internet/Electronic Communication as an External Delivery Source
The estimates state that about eight billion people can access some form of electronic communication network across the globe. The estimation of this global access is the ability to investigate and research any health condition by symptom or chief complaint. The user simply inputs his or her perceived diagnosis and several choices are displayed in most search engines such as GOOGLE or BING. The programming used today does not even require that the spelling is correct because of the built in spell check feature. The electronic/computer age has brought with it many advantages that ten years ago were impossible. The ability to research as many topics/symptoms once performed at the library can be done at home. The Internet/e-communication has revolutionized both personal and professional fact-finding missions. E-health is quickly replacing both the research and word of