Running head: FUTURE TRENDS IN HEALTHCARE

Future Trends in Healthcare

Grace Hummel
HCS/533
September 15, 2014
Professor Eric Rios

FUTURE TRENDS IN HEALTHCARE

Future Trends in Healthcare

Smart Phones, I-Pads, I-Pods, Blue Tooth, Blackberry, GPS, On-Star- wherever we go
and where ever we want to go, and when- theres an App for that. Whether we like it or not,
and even whether or not we choose for it to be that way, our personal lives, and even our health
issues are constantly impacted by technology. We may complain but in reality, we wouldnt
have any other way.
Health care technology can be as simple as close as a hand-held computer at the bedside
of a patient, a monitor worn by the patient, or the sound of an alarm at the possibility of a
medication error. Health care technology also can be almost unimaginable and distant as a
surgeon in another state guiding the instruments as a robot performs delicate brain surgery in the
community hospital operating room. The Futuristic fantasy world of Star Trek and Star Wars is
todays technology. Dr. Bones McCoys Tricorder seems almost archaic compared to current
medical technology. R2-D2 and C-3PO have nothing on todays health care robots. Robots can
deliver laboratory information and specimens to another floor of the hospital, maneuvering
around corners, avoiding obstacles, entering and leaving elevators, and even deciding the best
route to take to achieve its mission.
In the discussion of future trends in health care, including the impact of distance delivery
of health care, and the current and future impact of telemedicine; the emphasis is telemedicine in
relationship to care for the rapidly-growing population of frail elderly.
Small communities in the United States are often at a disadvantage when they need
access to modern health care. Frail elderly individuals may not have transportation to see a
doctor, if there is even a doctor near enough to see. According to Massey, Appel, Buchanan, and
Cherrington (2010), Individuals living in rural communities often encounter difficulties

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obtaining appropriate health care because of distance from health clinic; financial limitations,
cultural barriers, mistrust, communication issues, and high rates of heal illiteracy (p.20). In
many cases, telemedicine is the solution to health care isolation for these individuals.
Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged form one site to another via
electronic communications to improve patients health status (Wagner, Lee & Glasser, 2009, p.
128). Medical information may be exchanged between the patient and the physician or other
care providers. Telemedicine allows patients in rural or medically underserved areas to receive
adequate healthcare. Two physicians talking on the telephone about treatment for a patient for a
patient is a form of telemedicine, as is a satellite videoconference between two providers in
different parts of the world. Telemedicine brings the knowledge and experience of a faraway specialist into the office of a small community healthcare facility, or transfers the
x-ray of a patient in a small community to a radiologist in another community.
Mobile telemedicine refers to telemedicine applicaication in which the
participants are located at a distance to each other as well as mobile (Wurm,
Hoffmann-Wellenhof, Wurm, & Soyer, 2008, p. 107). Mobile telephones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs) are used to deliver patient information. Mobile telemedicine is
especially important for use by EMS personnel before and during transport of a patient
to a hospital or for monitoring a patient while he or she is moved within a hospital or
healthcare facility (Parker, 2005).
Telemedicine also can be used in training physicians, nurses, and other medical
personnel. The shortage of nurses, and probably also the shortage of physicians, is
due in part to lack of faculty to train new enrollees. At least part of the training of new
enrollees can be with computer-based modular systems. Computer software can

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simulate emergency or treatment situations to give the student virtual hands-on training.
Students can train at their own pace, and even proficiency examinations can be
individually created and scored through the computer-based module.
Telemedicine can serve the patient in the absence of home health care as well
as provide support and information for home health care-givers. Monitors can help the
patient keep track of medications, blood pressure monitoring, and weight. In the past, a
home health nurse needing instruction on medication or treatment for a particular
patient may have had to wait for a telephone call to be returned. Current computerbased information systems provide patients and their care-givers with support and
information at the time support and information at the time support and information is
needed.
Telemedicine and the Elderly, telecare, telehealth, and telemedicine are terms
used interchangeably to describe remote monitoring of patients using information,
communication, and technology (ICT). Patients are monitored by videoconferencing, emails, data and imaging management, and through wearable monitoring devices that
send health status information electronically from the patient to the health care provider.
Years ago physicians made house calls to check on their patients. The physician now
can make a virtual house call. Patients can connect themselves, or be connected by a
care provider, to glucometers, blood pressure cuffs, wireless scales, and many other
electronic devices that track the patients health daily and send the results to the
patients physicians. The Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) is another
device for monitoring elderly patients. The PERS is usually worn as a pendant or a
wristband, and automatically sends an alert if the patient falls or has another type of

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emergency. A 2010 study predicts that elder care technology and especially technology
that monitors long-term care facility residents for falls and wandering and also records
general health indicators, were valued at $2.3 billion in 2010, and are expected to
reach $3.4 billion by 2015 (Anonymous, 2011, para 2).
The population over age 65 is expected to more than double by the 2050. As the
percentage of elderly population increases, so does the rate of disability, frailty, and
chronic diseases. Many of these frail, chronically ill elderly live alone and require some
type of daily monitoring. Home health care providers may help, but most are not with
the elderly person on a 24-hour basis, and the majority of elderly could not afford this
type of care if it were available. The best type of 24-hour care for the frail or chronically
ill elderly individual is a wearable device that monitors the individual at all times.
The most common chronic diseases of the elderly are cardiovascular,
cardiopulmonary, and neurological. The frail elderly are also more prone to falls. The
problem of falls affects 30% of the elderly community over the age of 65 years
(Karunanithi, 2007, p. 267). Falls causing hip fractures or severe head injuries could
lead to a decreased quality of life for the individual. Regular monitoring of the
individuals sense of balance and vital signs that may contribute to the likelihood of the
individual falling may reduce the number of falls and increase the individuals quality of
life.
For the monitors to be the most useful, they must be wearable and wireless.
Many of the monitors are in the form of biosensors on microchips worn as clothing or
jewelry-type- devices. The disadvantage of this type of monitor is that movement, such
as swinging the arms while walking, can send exaggerated physiological signals to the

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monitoring care provider. Research is still in progress for weaving optical fibers into the
fabric of clothing.
Some telehealth systems allow individuals to monitor their own vital signs using
blood pressure cuffs, finger sensors to measure oxygen saturation, and scales for
monitoring weight. Data is transmitted by telephone or internet connection to a
database server where they can be accessed remotely by the physician or other
healthcare provider. The primary difference between these telehealth systems and the
wearable monitoring devices is user interaction. The wearable monitors send signals
automatically, where the pressure cuffs, finger sensors and scales are connected to
home monitoring stations and require interaction by the patient. They are connected to
a computer and are not ambulatory, as are the wearable monitors.
The widespread use of telemedicine is not expected to charge in the next five
years, except that telemedicine will be used by more patients and physicians than it is
now, and the distance factor will become even greater because of improvement in
telecommunication in general. As telecommunication advances, so will telemedicine.
Emergencies requiring specialty consultation currently may take hours or even days to
acquire the needed information. In the future, specialty consultation may be an
immediate response with the specialist viewing the patient at the same time as the
attending physician. Currently underdeveloped areas of use of telemedicine in health
care areas such as general surgery, pediatrics, and emergency care will be improved
during the next five years. It is predicted that there will be an enhanced sense of
presence of the specialist or consultant, especially in emergency care, to the extent that
the specialist or consultant will be viewed as in the same room with the emergency care

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team. Improvements in technology will eventually bring the cost of the technology
within reach of any patient or physician.
The life of each individual is impacted daily by technology. The evidence of
technology in our lives will only grow stronger in years to come, and that is as it should
be. From the simple telephone to distance-guided robotic surgery, health care
technology will continue to be improved as the technology is accepted by more
physicians and patients.
Telemedicine is currently used in potentially every aspect of health care, from
physician-to-specialist consultation, physician-to-patient, patient-to-healthcare, and the
guidance of robotic surgery. Telemedicine is used to train health care providers where
there is a deficiency of faculty to train them one-on-one. Patient history and radiological
images can be viewed by specialists and primary care providers at the same time, or
even by a group of specialist through video-conference. The frail elderly receive
support and care through telemedicine with the use of monitors worn on the body or
connected to a computer. Medical information related to an emergency situation will
reach the hospital emergency room staff before the patient arrives by ambulance or
helicopter, and where indicated, a specialist will appear to be in the emergency room
with the patient and staff, even though the specialist will appear to be in the emergency
room with the patient and staff, even though the specialist may be miles away.
According to Cowan (2010), Real Health Care information technologies and adaption
to changing consumer expectations (p. 379). As telecommunication advances, so will
telemedicine and all other aspects of health care technology.

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References
Anonymous. (2011, January). Monitoring tech: Trending Upwards. Long-Term,
60(1), 60.
Cowan, M. (2010, January). Millennial transformation for primary care. Military
Medicine, 175(6), 379-382.
Karunanithi, M. (2007, March). Monitoring technology for the elderly patient.
Expert Review of Medical Devices, 4(2), 267.
Massey, C., Appel, S., Buchanan, K., & Cherrinton, A. (2010, Winter). Improving
Diabetes care in rural communities: An overview of current initiatives and
A call for renewed efforts. Clinical Diabetes, 28(8), 10.
Parker, P. (2005). Imagine the emergency department of the future. Nursing
Management, 36(9), 68-70.
Wagner, K.A., Lee, F. W., & Glasser, J.P. (2009). Health care information
Systems: A practical approach to health care management. John
Wiley & Sons. Wurm, E.M.T., Hofmann-Wellenhof, R., Wurm, R., &
Soyer, H.P. (2008). Telemedicine and teledermatologyy: Past, present
And future. JDDG: 2.2008 (Band 6), 106-112.

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