Wireless Revolution in HealthcareWireless Revolution in HealthcareThe healthcare industry has experienced significant growth over the past two decades. The industry prior to the Social Security Act of 1965 (introduction of Medicare and Medicaid) wasn’t innovative. But the introduction of a government 3rd payer introduced millions of new dollars into the industry and innovation took off. Under a Fee-For-Service system, providers were reimbursed what they spent up until the 1980’s. This can best be seen in Radiology where the introduction of CT, MRI, PET scan, nuclear medicine testing, and cryotherapy technology have been the major contributors to the industry’s rapidly rising costs. Along with this, the industry has recently seen an influx of wireless technology that is revolutionizing the industry. This has allowed physicians to increase volume making them more efficient. In addition, wireless technology has allowed for physicians to order prescriptions directly preventing errors and limiting the number of people involved in each patient transaction. The wireless revolution in healthcare has allowed for increased information security, patient safety, and efficiency and will continue to revolutionize these areas over the next decade.
To fully understand what is happening in the healthcare industry, one must understand where it came from. The industry was practically a paper and pencil industry just like every other industry; however, healthcare was the last to change making it very time consuming for providers. Technology really didn’t exist until the late 1960’s early 1970’s. The reason is that the industry was not considered to be profitable until the passing of the Social Security Act of 1965. The introduction of Medicare and Medicaid introduced millions of patients as paying patients. These millions of guaranteed dollars under a Fee-For Service reimbursement scheme caused the industry to explode. The more the industry spent, the more money providers received. Innovation took off and costs began rising. In order to battle rising costs, the government passed the HMO act of 1978. Introduction of Health Maintenance Organizations into the industry stopped rising costs with the ending of Fee-For-Service reimbursement system, but it was short lived. In the mid 1980’s costs began to rise sharply again mainly due to the innovation in Radiology. The creation of CT, MRI, PET scan imaging, Nuclear Medicine Testing, and cryotherapy technology exploded and providers fell in love with the diagnostic tests causing the rising spiral costs.
Today, the healthcare industry makes up the biggest portion of GDP than any other industry in the Country, approaching 15%. The United States is considered the front runners in healthcare treatment due to the innovation in technology and medical research. But the industry is at a crossroads for there are multiple complicated issues. The “top two issues facing health care right now are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and patient safety” (Simpson). The reason is in the expense. In order to comply with HIPPA, major changes had to be made to information systems and technology costing millions throughout the industry. A big issue considering that Americans are already fully extended when it comes to healthcare costs. In most industries, these new unexpected costs would have come at the expense of other areas throughout the industry, however, healthcare continues to grow and “wireless devices for patients already have been significantly deployed more
In contrast, the healthcare industry is still the best-performing at making its living through education and technology industries. However, as the technology-related costs continue to rise, some companies are seeing some unexpected financial and technological changes going on. These changes could mean that a lot more healthcare costs are expected to be incurred as a result of the increase in technology.
There are still 3 main industries receiving significant funding from the U.S. government and many more in the developing world (2 countries). These 3 industries are: (a) healthcare providers (the healthcare system itself) (b) IT, (c) IT training (this could also include IT for healthcare professionals who are part of existing infrastructure).
What Is the U.S. Healthcare System That Is Changing?
The U.S. military does not have an entire system, but we do now have a small subset of those systems.
I am going to discuss three trends.
The U.S. in 2016 was the largest contributor to healthcare expenses.
For this reason, we were able to make inroads into the most lucrative sectors of global financial and other financing in the world.
The U.S. government is also the largest lender for healthcare and healthcare related costs for the developing world.
As you can see, it is becoming more of a leader in the country.
The U.S. economy is growing fastest in the United Nations and developing world, and many countries are able to absorb increased costs because of the U.S.
I will cover the current health care and health care related costs in more depth in my Next Generation Health News.
In April of 2016 I covered the U.S. healthcare system under the Global Healthcare Finance System as the top 5 countries in the world with the largest healthcare sector in the world.
The top five countries in the world in Healthcare Financial System
In 2016 there were only 29 major countries, which was the smallest change from 2016, where only 12 countries had the largest number of healthcare systems under their jurisdiction (16 countries combined).
The average medical cost in the $18 million range of the U.S. is almost 12% lower than the cost of health care in the other 28 countries (this is actually pretty close to the same cost estimate in the developed world).
Here are the top 5 countries in the system (note the “ex” words):
India 1. India, China, Singapore 2. India, Finland, Japan 3. Italy, USA 4. Japan, Japan 5. Nigeria, Australia 6. Portugal, Sweden 7. Brazil, Paraguay 8. Indonesia, Turkey 9. China 10. China, Spain 11. Russia, Belarus 12. Israel 13. Germany 14. Korea, South Korea 15. Australia 16. South Korea, Hong Kong 17. Indonesia 18. Netherlands 19. India 20. Australia 21. Singapore 22. Australia 23. Canada 24. Australia 25. Switzerland 26. Spain 27. Germany 28. Singapore 29. Singapore 30. Malaysia 31. South Korea 32. China 33. Brunei 34. The USA 35. Israel 36. New Zealand 37. China and USA 38. The USA 39. Brazil 40. Japan and USA 41. Japan 42. Denmark 43. France and Nigeria 44. India 44. Indonesia 45. United States 46. China 47. United States 48. Philippines 49. Malaysia 50. Brazil 51. United Kingdom 52. The USA 53. Australia 54. Mexico 55. South Korea 56. Japan 57. Japan or China 58. Indonesia 59. Singapore 60. Australia 61. Singapore 62. Australia 63. Brunei 64. The USA 65. New Zealand 66. Singapore 67. Singapore 68. New Zealand 69. Netherlands 70. New Zealand 71. South Korea 72. Malaysia 73. The USA 74. Bangladesh 75. Korea 76. Portugal 77. Korea 78. Turkey 79. UK 80. The USA
In contrast, the healthcare industry is still the best-performing at making its living through education and technology industries. However, as the technology-related costs continue to rise, some companies are seeing some unexpected financial and technological changes going on. These changes could mean that a lot more healthcare costs are expected to be incurred as a result of the increase in technology.
There are still 3 main industries receiving significant funding from the U.S. government and many more in the developing world (2 countries). These 3 industries are: (a) healthcare providers (the healthcare system itself) (b) IT, (c) IT training (this could also include IT for healthcare professionals who are part of existing infrastructure).
What Is the U.S. Healthcare System That Is Changing?
The U.S. military does not have an entire system, but we do now have a small subset of those systems.
I am going to discuss three trends.
The U.S. in 2016 was the largest contributor to healthcare expenses.
For this reason, we were able to make inroads into the most lucrative sectors of global financial and other financing in the world.
The U.S. government is also the largest lender for healthcare and healthcare related costs for the developing world.
As you can see, it is becoming more of a leader in the country.
The U.S. economy is growing fastest in the United Nations and developing world, and many countries are able to absorb increased costs because of the U.S.
I will cover the current health care and health care related costs in more depth in my Next Generation Health News.
In April of 2016 I covered the U.S. healthcare system under the Global Healthcare Finance System as the top 5 countries in the world with the largest healthcare sector in the world.
The top five countries in the world in Healthcare Financial System
In 2016 there were only 29 major countries, which was the smallest change from 2016, where only 12 countries had the largest number of healthcare systems under their jurisdiction (16 countries combined).
The average medical cost in the $18 million range of the U.S. is almost 12% lower than the cost of health care in the other 28 countries (this is actually pretty close to the same cost estimate in the developed world).
Here are the top 5 countries in the system (note the “ex” words):
India 1. India, China, Singapore 2. India, Finland, Japan 3. Italy, USA 4. Japan, Japan 5. Nigeria, Australia 6. Portugal, Sweden 7. Brazil, Paraguay 8. Indonesia, Turkey 9. China 10. China, Spain 11. Russia, Belarus 12. Israel 13. Germany 14. Korea, South Korea 15. Australia 16. South Korea, Hong Kong 17. Indonesia 18. Netherlands 19. India 20. Australia 21. Singapore 22. Australia 23. Canada 24. Australia 25. Switzerland 26. Spain 27. Germany 28. Singapore 29. Singapore 30. Malaysia 31. South Korea 32. China 33. Brunei 34. The USA 35. Israel 36. New Zealand 37. China and USA 38. The USA 39. Brazil 40. Japan and USA 41. Japan 42. Denmark 43. France and Nigeria 44. India 44. Indonesia 45. United States 46. China 47. United States 48. Philippines 49. Malaysia 50. Brazil 51. United Kingdom 52. The USA 53. Australia 54. Mexico 55. South Korea 56. Japan 57. Japan or China 58. Indonesia 59. Singapore 60. Australia 61. Singapore 62. Australia 63. Brunei 64. The USA 65. New Zealand 66. Singapore 67. Singapore 68. New Zealand 69. Netherlands 70. New Zealand 71. South Korea 72. Malaysia 73. The USA 74. Bangladesh 75. Korea 76. Portugal 77. Korea 78. Turkey 79. UK 80. The USA
rapidly in the medical field than in the business world. But hospitals need to keep pace with the explosive growth of wireless technology” (Jacobs) in order to stay competitive. The most helpful wireless technology introduced to the industry has been the Personal Data Assistant (PDA…see Appendix A). In general, wireless computing technology allows caregivers to access, update, and transmit critical patient and treatment information using radio signals instead of hardwired systems or paper-based records” (Simpson) allowing for increased efficiency and patient safety. This technology has allowed providers to code patient encounters, streamline patient scheduling, and make medical records more accessible to providers.
Another technology development of the horizon is convergence that “will have tremendous impact on health care everywhere” (Jacobs). One example of such development is computerized physician/prescriber order entry (CPOE). Some estimate “that 80% of medication errors occur at order entry. Although CPOE systems that flag potential medication errors cut the number of serious prescribing errors in half, fewer than 5% of hospitals use them” (Simpson). A major issue in patient safety, expect this to be one of the fastest growing areas in healthcare over the next decade now that providers can focus on other areas now that the rules of HIPPA have been complied to. CPOE systems