The Oxymoron

How can technology reduce health costs when the main reason that costs are rising is because of technology? New technology is more expensive so how can new technology turn around and lower the cost of health care? It really seems like the impossible question to me.

1)I mean despite all of the other ways to do this I think the number one way to lower health costs would be to find a way to lower the cost of technology somehow. Whether it be we find cheaper ways to experiment or just cheaper materials to make machines out of. If we could somehow make tools and other operational instruments out something as plentiful as dirt I think that could significantly reduce the cost. Maybe that isn't quite a valid idea because of the process it would probably take to make dirt sterile and a functional enough compound. I guess it couldn't hurt to look into though.

2) After reading the article at http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1244 I suppose it made a good point in some ways. It basically talked about updating the computer systems in hospitals make the record keeping files, all the scans, and everything more accessible, efficient and less redundant. If you take the philosophy that time equals money, which usually is true in the health world, then all the time saved by more efficient record keeping translates to more time for other patients, therefore things get done faster. More things can then be done in a shorter period of time and therefore services should cost less. This is however, all in theory. But I know from experience that there customer service department would receive a great deal less phone calls if their record keeping was better. The amount of time spent, just because records don't transfer correctly to insurance companies, just for my family is unbelievable. Efficiency would probably cut costs slightly.

3) Another way to reduce the cost of health care is also by only using technology when absolutely necessary. We don't need a CAT scan every time we get a headache. We need to just be able to determine when we need advanced technology or not. Common sense works wonders.

4) Generally it costs much less to treat a patient who has just caught a disease. Working on ways to diagnose ailments quicker might in the long run save lives and cost less money. If we could have better technology to see when something is wrong, it could be quickly and less costly fixed.

5) Decoding human genomes has been a venture to help prevent defective genes. According to www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/science/11gene.html A few scientists have apparently figured out a way to do it much cheaper. They expect it to be able to be done in masses very soon. It will be easily accessible. This claim however might not be perfectly credible, because most of the info comes from the people making the claims. This does shed a ray of hope though.

6)http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090916/Laser-technology-lowers-manufacturing-cost-of-artificial-joints-and-arterial-stents.aspx This article talks about how they are working on ways to lower costs for bone type implants. Hip replacements and "arterial stints" are among the things they are working on. This precision can greatly reduce costs of implants and since the number of people needing implants is on the rise. So I guess this is another way to reduce cost by technology.

7) A big issue right now I guess is cardiology and there equipment, at least according to http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219501110. They are having a lot of problems developing new technology to get the ball rolling. But they do estimate that once they can develop something it will lower costs. I'm not sure how reliable their claims are. I think its probably just wishful thinking.

8) GE has announced that they are working to reduce costs and produce better initiatives. They want to launch at least "100 medical technology products" to lower costs. Whether this is plausible or not is yet to be seen. They are also trying to do it on a global scale. I guess this isn't a way to improve but is an example of a company trying to improve. They are investing 6 billion dollars to help there claims. http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/232873/topic/WS_HLM2_GBL/GE-Initiative-Seeks-to-Lower-Healthcare-Costs-Improve-Quality-on-Global-Scale.html

9) At several small clinics they have used special information technology to plot patient data to detect trends in diagnosing things. This software has helped them with early prevention in many people. If we could get better technology software we might be able help many more people in early detection. http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/pressreleases/nat/2009/072409nlcforum.html

10) We also in my opinion need to figure out how to make drugs and vaccines cheaper to produce. Or at least cheaper to test. People spend so much money on drugs for a month and it really kills their budget. I know from experience with my mother. I really don't know what we could do though. I guess I just am not that innovative.... All just wishful thinking.