MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY: IDENTIFYING THE REASONS FOR DELAY IN THE ADOPTION OF USEFUL AND BENEFICIAL INNOVATIONS
Over the past two decades, technological innovations holding great promise for application in the delivery of health care have proliferated as has been the case in most fields of endeavor. In many instances, however, the adoption of useful and beneficial technological innovations in the delivery of health care has been neither as pervasive nor as rapid as many people wish had been the case.
This research considers the information provided in an article from the New York Times by Jennifer Steinhauer (2000) in an effort to identify and refine the reasons for the sometimes seeming slow pace of incorporating technological innovations into the delivery of health care services. Steinhauer (2000) identified many factors that contribute to the slow pace of innovation adopting in health care. Although her article is two years old in December 2002, most of her points remain valid.
Medical technology is assuming an increasingly important treatment role in the contemporary period.ß An example is the application of medical informatics in health care institutions.ß Major enhancements of existing computerized systems in most health care institutions are required to support the developing collaborative delivery systems and the support functions that these system require. The cost of such enhancements is one of the main stumbling blocks to a more widespread adoption of the technology.
To succeed under managed care, health care organizations must integrate clinical and financial information.ß Such integration can help minimize financial risk to the institution by improving the ratio of operating costs to clinical outcomes.ß Under a fee-for-service payment system, no real link exists between the clinical and financial aspects of health care delivery.ß A capitated payment system requires health care providers to accept the financ...