The Importance Of Medical Technology And The Healthcare Expenditure

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Medical Technology and the Healthcare Expenditure Medical technology encompasses a wide range of health care products that are used to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases (Chandra & Skinner, 2012). Medical technology may include medical devices, vaccinations, pharmaceuticals, information technology, biotech, and healthcare services. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of health care; while also containing cost, through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options, reductions in hospital stays, and rehabilitation times. One of the leading theories is that medical technology is growing faster than expected and wit its advancement, it has become a major contributor of health care expenditure in America. Funding …show more content…

Hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers in general rely heavily on technology to diagnose and treat patients. Many patients have become “spoiled” and do not physicians can adequately treat or diagnose them unless test and procedures are performed. Consequently, physicians order numerous tests to keep the trust of patients and to keep them satisfied. This allows institutions to easily keep the prices of medical technology, high because patients are so dependent on technology. “According to the Institute of Medicine, approximately $800 million dollars is spent on care that does not make the patient better” (Snell, 2013, para. …show more content…

Technology is defined as wasteful when considered unsafe and ineffective. This cost containment strategy will help save money without diminishing the quality of care. One of the most recent changes in health care within the last five years is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obama Care. The main goal of the ACA is to make healthcare affordable for all citizens by changing many of the rules set my insurance companies (Snell, 2013). A major issue that contributes to the rising cost of healthcare is the lack of communication among healthcare providers leading to unnecessary repetition of expensive treatments. The ACA has planned to solve this buy establishing the Accountable Care Organization (ACO’s). This will be a group of healthcare providers working together to ensure effective treatment, while limiting the amount of unnecessary tools and test. The goal is to send patients to providers in the same network, with the hope of saving money. Another way the ACA plans to lower cost is by bundling payment systems. The system will provide patients a single payment that will cover all expenses, public and private. This will be extremely beneficial for patients who have chronic illnesses such as, hypertension and diabetes (Snell,

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