Wireless Revolution in Healthcare

The 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 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 with the addition of wireless technology will allow for more efficiency and better patient care with emphasis on improving medication safety. For most hospitals, "the reality will be trying to interface clinical systems rather than selecting large integrated systems" (Hagland) to implement such a program. A costly venture to begin, yet millions can be saved not only in prevention of lawsuits from overdosing, but in bad publicity. No one knows this more that Dana Farber Cancer Insitiute that due to a prescribing error, a boston globe reporter was killed when she received 10 times the dose that was needed.

Another area where wireless technologies are advancing is the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, this industry is very dependent on marketing by sales representatives going out and detailing physicians on their products. Unfortunately, this method is becoming less and less practical as the number of representatives increase and physicians' available time decreases. This has lead several companies to explore other marketing options that can get their message to the intended targets. The two most popular methods at this point are electronic sales aids and electronic mail and teleconferences designed for physicians.

Up until now, pharmaceutical representatives have used conventional paper sales aids to get their marketing message across to physicians. This method seems to have lost much of its effectiveness, as physicians' eyes too often glaze over at the sight of another sales aid. To combat this, many are now armed with laptop computers equipped with electronic sales aids and even television commercials that can be shown to the physician and other members of the office staff. This innovative application of technology has been shown to get more of the physicians' attention, therefore promoting a more effective presentation. Also making these presentations more effective