Medical Technology redux
Yesterday's surgery went great - the surgeon called it a "textbook" procedure. The robotic technique reduces the impact of the procedure significantly. Three hours after surgery, my relative asked for his phone, "so I can check my email." He's going home today and it's a huge weight off my shoulders.
Twenty minutes after I wrote my last entry, I realized I'd missed what is probably the most substantial contributor of all - computers. Computers are an enabling technology across the spectrum of healthcare. From helping the materials scientist simulate stress loading, to distributed computing assisting in the mapping of the human genome, computers do it all.
One of the hot topics right now is "outcome-based" healthcare. Insurers are no longer taking the approach that a given condition should have a set cost. Instead, the healthcare providers are being monitored. Whomever provides the best outcome, with the least amount of recidivism, is the person that should be getting paid. Slight variations in upfront costs are trivial compared to a complete relapses down the line. Computers allow for easy, detailed analysis of the protocols and environmental factors that predict a successful outcome. This sort of research will only bear fruit as we gain a better understanding of the factors of success.
In the past, I've done some consulting at a hospital. That is actually an amazing environment for IT folks. You have to think in terms of how your actions could impact patient care. "Impact" means so much more - it can mean something small and annoying such as a brief delay in receiving care, or something major, like not getting the right medicine to the right patient or interfering with an in-progress medical procedure. The upside of all this risk for an IT person is the reward. It is fulfilling to think that your work helps sick people get better every day.
Hats off to those making the quality of life better by sitting in front of their computer all day!