Computer Applications in Health Care

1. Computer Applications in Health Care

2. Computers are EVERYWHERE • Doctors use computers to record progress notes. • Nurses use computers to transmit orders to other departments and in patient care • Pharmacists use computers to order medication and view a patient profile. • For the most part, ALL HEALTHCARE WORKERS use computers.

3. 2. Information Systems • Accounting – saves time and money • Scheduling – appointments • Monitoring – blood pressure, heartbeat • Databases • A database is an organized collection of information • Information entered in areas called fields • Extensive use of databases in biotech

4. 3. Confidentiality • Confidentiality of patient information must be strictly enforced. • Access codes and passwords are used. • Only authorized workers have access to patient information. • Confidentiality- the principle in medical ethics that the information a patient reveals to a health care provider is private and has limits on how and when it can be disclosed to a third party.

5. 4. Medical Laboratory • Computers used to analyze DNA • Blood • Urine • Used to test for disease and genetic disorders • Can run as many as 500 specimens per hour

6. 5. Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) • Computer provides a printout of electrical activity of patient’s heart • Computer can also “read” the EKG – tell the reader what the EKG means. This used to be done by the doctor. • An EKG can be done at a remote location and sent to a doctor thousands of miles away.

7. 5. Echocardiogram • Computer directs sound waves into the heart, then converts the reflection of the waves into an image of the heart. • Used to reveal heart problems • valve problems, • defects in the heart wall, etc.

8. 6. Computerized Tomography (CT) • It’s a computerized body scanner • Shows cross-section views • Allows us to see bone and body tissues • Helps us find tumors

9. 7. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) • It’s a body scanner that uses nuclear magnets instead of x-rays • Patient is placed in a large, circular magnet that measures the activity of hydrogen ions and converts it to a picture • Can see tumors, blood moving through veins

10. 8. Ultrasonography • Uses high frequency sound waves • Body parts are viewed on a computer screen and printed on photo paper • Used during pregnancy

11. 9. Telemedicine • Includes remote monitoring devices and video-conferencing • Used to connect specialists to patients in remote locations • Can transmit information from prisons, an ambulance, and other challenging locations • Families can watch the care of high-risk newborns who are still in the hospital

12. 10. Bioinformatics • The use of computers to store, retrieve, analyze or predict the composition or the structure of biomolecules. • "Biomolecules" include your genetic material---nucleic acids---and the products of your genes: proteins.

13. Human Genome Project • Computers play an important role in the Human Genome Project. • The goals of the Human Genome Project are: • identify all the approximate 30,000 genes in human DNA, • determinethe sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, • store this information in databases, • improve tools for data analysis.

14. Computers in Biotech • IBM is working on a supercomputer called Blue Gene which may decipher some of the mystery behind how proteins work. • “Computational biology," or "bioinformatics," can collect information "without having to do the experiment” This could make it easier to design drugs because we can make a reasonable prediction of the structure with a computer.

15. Bioinformatics • Bioinformatics is the term related to the new field that merges biology, computer science, and information technology to manage and analyze data, with the ultimate goal of understanding and modeling living systems.

16. ADVANTAGES • Computers are mostly used in every organization. Computer plays different roles in different fields now a day’s no field is evolving without the role of computers. • Computers become a reliable product in every hospital due to its effective and efficient performance. From open heart surgery to X-Ray’s everything is made possible so easily only through computers. • Apart from administration purposes computers are used in performing surgeries. Laparascopic surgeries is said to be the most common surgery which can be done only through the help of computers. The medical experts insert the medical tools and other small equipments attached with cameras into the patient’s body.

17. ADVANTAGES • High-tech surgery tools and instruments embedded with cameras are used in surgical process. The operations done by the medical experts are completely recorded by the computers for future references and also to avoid complications. • Computers make their role perfect in all types of clinical image processing like CT scan X-rays and more accurately. • The Heart rate, pulse rate, brain readings and other specifications are monitored and recorded continuously through computers and finally the medical expert analyze the computer record and provide treatment for the affected person. • Always up to date

18. DISADVANTAGES • Cost • One of the biggest drawbacks of adding computers to hospitals is the cost. Computers cost money, and a large hospital needs many computers to keep the system running smoothly. • Creating a network to transfer medical records or keep track of billing is an additional initial cost. Unlike paper records, which simply require a few more copies, electronic record keeping requires constant upkeep of computers, computer software and other electronic elements, which can cost even more.

19. DISADVANTAGES • Lack of Standardization • From a hospital point of view, one of the biggest disadvantages of adding computers and electronic records to a hospital is the lack of standardization through the medical field. Different hospitals use different shorthand abbreviations or symbols on medical records than others. Even the codes called out during emergencies don't always mean the same thing in every hospital. If a medical record is transferred from another hospital or the system becomes open so hospitals can share information, the lack of standardization in hospital notes and records could cause problems when it comes to a medical professional's understanding of the medical record.

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