Health care technology

Currently, physicians and patients determine the demand for pharmaceuticals and employers and insurers assume the risk and cost. As the price of new health care technologies escalates, payers will design and implement strategies to share risk and cost. Defined employer contributions, increased patient cost sharing, and benefit exclusions will be used to help control utilization and cost. In this environment, value-based assessments will be crucial to the adoption of any technological innovation. It is reasonable to expect public and private coverage for new therapies if evidence is provided regarding the costs and consequences of treatment. However, social and ethical dilemmas will certainly arise as therapies whose costs exceed their benefits are debated in the public arena. 

Technology Glossary (National Library of Medidne) - Health Care Technology http //www.nlm.nih.gov/archive 20040831/nichsr/tal01/tal0108.html... 

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) is a worldwide nonprofit society of technical professionals who apply their technical knowledge in the regulated health care technology manufacturing industries. The ISPE is committed to advancing the educational and technical proficiency... 

Information and health care technologies—Use computer technology competently to communicate health information. 

The National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology PubMed Central... 

Nowadays a drug company has not only to show its paymasters - governments, insurers and so on - that its new prodnct is safe and works, but also that it is cost-effective. In Anstralia, this has been spelled out in legislation. Since 1993, any drng submitted for approval must be accompanied not only by the resnlts of clinical trials bnt also by an economic impact analysis. In 1999, the United Kingdom set np a National Institnte for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to advise the National Health Service on the cost-effectiveness of health care technologies. Other countries ask formally or informally for pharmacoeconomic analysis. Economic impacts can be measured in a variety of ways, for example, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility or full cost-benefit stndies. 

Banta HD, Luce BR Health Care Technology and Its Assessment. New York, Oxford University Press, 1993. (NC)... 

Task Force on Principles for Economic Analysis of Health Care Technology. Economic analysis of healthcare technology A report on principles. Ann Intern Med 1995 122 61-70. 

Farley, P. J., Private Health Insurance in the U.S. Data Preview 23, DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 86-3406 (Washington, DC U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment, September 1986). 

Beyond the evidence, poor use of health care technology cannot be fully explained by factors such as lack of competent staff, absence of consumables, and broken down equipment. These are merely proximate determinants of underutilization. The real determinants would probably lie in the broader health systems governance domain. One would need to examine why decision-makers would acquire technology that is subsequently not used. Many of these countries have failed to put in place viable institutions that assure the six domains of stewardship needed for proper deployment and use of health technology in their health systems ... 

Discuss the role of implementation of appropriate guidelines and standards as a key link between health care technology management and health outcomes... 

Health Care Technology Equipment or device that interacts with the human body to deliver clinical care or diagnose a condition. 

As health care technology becomes more and more complex and complicated, a clinical engineer can act as a translator between information systems, medical equipment, and the patient. Clinical engineers bring creativity, curiosity, and analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills to the medical field. They may serve on health care system-wide committees that relate to process and performance improvement, quality control and inspection, new technology purchases, and patient safety. 

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