Medical Technology costs are increasing at an annual rate of 7% a year (Callahan 1).
Advancements in Medical Technology
Medical technology is advancing tremendously and is helping doctors diagnose a number of problems quicker and easier. This technology is helping people live longer, healthier lives. There are now MRI’s that can take a complete 3D image of the brain in half a second. This is very helpful considering the brain is a very active organ and it is hard to get an accurate image. CT scans are also helpful tools for scanning the human body. The CT scan creates an image that can literally be sliced apart by doctors to search for cancer or other complications.
Negative Effects of Advanced Technology
Advancements in medical technology are starting to cause major problems. The biggest problem is cost.
The new technology is very expensive to create and to use. The new equipment also requires a specialized doctor to operate it so that adds more to the cost. An article about Health Care cost said, “Overall health care cost is going to go from its present $2.1 trillion annually to $4 trillion in 10 years” (Callahan 1). This increase is projected to cause the Medicare program to go bankrupt in nine years. These rising costs are also affecting the number of people with
health insurance. Employee health benefits are much more expensive and now only around 61% of employers provide them.
Another problem with advancing technology is something called false positives. A false positive is the use of medical equipment that isn’t needed. An example is there was a woman who had chest pains so she went to the doctor. The doctor ordered a CT scan which showed a small amount of calcification in one of her arteries. The doctor
immediately ordered for her to go to a catheterization lab so see if there was a severe blockage. It turned out that there was no blockage. The CT turned up a false positive. There was a new problem that arose from this false positive though. As the doctor snaked the catheter through the woman’s artery, he accidentally perforated the artery that lead to emergency open heart surgery.
Although medical technology can be a very helpful tool, the above information shows that the technology can also cause hardships with money, and sometimes can cause problems that are life threatening.
The new technology is very expensive to create and to use. The new equipment also requires a specialized doctor to operate it so that adds more to the cost. An article about Health Care cost said, “Overall health care cost is going to go from its present $2.1 trillion annually to $4 trillion in 10 years” (Callahan 1). This increase is projected to cause the Medicare program to go bankrupt in nine years. These rising costs are also affecting the number of people with
health insurance. Employee health benefits are much more expensive and now only around 61% of employers provide them.
Another problem with advancing technology is something called false positives. A false positive is the use of medical equipment that isn’t needed. An example is there was a woman who had chest pains so she went to the doctor. The doctor ordered a CT scan which showed a small amount of calcification in one of her arteries. The doctor
immediately ordered for her to go to a catheterization lab so see if there was a severe blockage. It turned out that there was no blockage. The CT turned up a false positive. There was a new problem that arose from this false positive though. As the doctor snaked the catheter through the woman’s artery, he accidentally perforated the artery that lead to emergency open heart surgery.
Although medical technology can be a very helpful tool, the above information shows that the technology can also cause hardships with money, and sometimes can cause problems that are life threatening.
Kavilanz, Parija."Your Famiy's Health Care Cost: $19,000" money.cnn.com. 2011. 12 Feb. 2013
<http://www.money.cnn.com>.
<http://www.money.cnn.com>.
How to Fight the Negative Effects of Technology
The biggest way to fight the extreme cost and false positives that come with modern health technology is to limit its use. Today people are going straight to a CT scan or an MRI and that costs far too much to continue doing. These unneeded scans are also causing the false positives. Doctors need to start limiting the use of these expensive machines or the nation’s health care is going to go bankrupt. Doctors should try to use all other resources and only use the new, expensive technology on extreme cases.
Daniel Callahan, “Health Care Costs and Medical Technology,” in From Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns, ed. Mary Crowley (Garrison, NY: The Hastings Center, 2008), 79-82
Goozner, Merril. "High-Tech Medicine Contributes to High-Cost Health Care."
Kaiser Health News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. "Advances In Medical Technology: What Does The Future Hold?." ScienceDaily, 16 Jun. 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.