Hey!
After our recitation session where we discussed how we can make engineering more visible in the world (or why engineers should even care about being visible) and they difference between individual health and public health, we talked about how we can lower the cost of the health care, which is driving some people insane this very moment. We did not come up with ten new technologies (we were told to do that on our own), but we did talk about the relationship between new medical technologies and the rising costs of health care. We said that new technologies can drive the cost of health care down but only after first making it spike; the newer technology will cost money to develop, test, and manufacture for hospitals and other health care providers. Also, as technology keeps progressing, there will always be a new "state-of-the-art" something that costs a lot of money will be wanted by the best hospitals and doctors. Also, people will want the state-of-the-art technologies as well because no one wants to risk his or her health.

So, after thinking about how it seems contradictory that new technologies can lower the cost of health care, I started thinking about new technologies anyway. Here is my list of potential new technologies. (I put technology in quotes because not every thing listed is a technology but more of an idea for how the cost of health care can be reduced).

10 Ways "Technology" Can Reduce Health Care Costs
1. better diagnostic technology: If we can diagnose people faster, and more accurately, we can treat the person for the correct disease sooner without a trial and error of different types of medications for a disease that the doctor isn't even sure the person has yet.

2. minimally invasive procedures: These procedures would require less time for patient recovery, which would mean less time in the hospital, which can be expensive. Also, less surgeons would be needed for the operation as well as less anesthesia; the risk of getting a disease or another complication from a much larger operation would also be reduced, which could also lower the cost for the patient and the hospital.

3. longer shelf life of medicines: This could reduce health care costs because it would stop the throwing away of medicine that costs money to produce.

4. stop research for "unnecessary" drugs: This isn't really a technology, but it more of a pet peeve of mine. I feel that too many drug companies are putting too much money into research for unnecessary drugs simply to make money. For example, the drug Latisse, which is produced by Allergan Inc., was created to help people grow their own eyelashes. The company says this medication is to treat hypotrichosis, but the commercials, at least to me, look like they are advertising to women for cosmetic purposes. I am sure having this disorder is not pleasant, but it is not like having cancer. I feel drug companies' main goals should be work for cures for the deadliest diseases first before worrying about people's eyelashes.

5. making health records digital: It would save a lot of time and money (and trees) if there was a central system where people's health histories could be stored for easy remote look-up in any hospital, doctor's office, or dentist's office. This system would also make looking up family histories of diseases much more simpler and reliable.

6. disinfecting everything: I know it is not possible, but killing disease-carrying germs will decrease doctor's visits, the need for medication, and health care costs. Soap and water-free disinfecting solutions are a great way for people to disinfect themselves and frequently used surfaces in only a few minutes or even seconds; every little bit counts when it comes to disease prevention.

7. personalizing medicine: This means that doctor's will create different doses or means of treating patients even if they have the same illness; new studies are starting to show that not every person reacts the same way to medicine. If doctor's start taking genetic factors into consideration, among other factors, then the success rate of diagnosing and treating illnesses will go up, and the time in a hospital or on medication will decrease. A group, the Personalized Medicine Coalition, or PMC, lists "promises" for personalized medicine; these promises are "better diagnoses and earlier interventions," "more efficient drug development," and "more effective therapies."

8. fixing insurance groups: Some insurance groups do not cover all procedures or all hospitals or doctors; this could be for financial reasons such as a group does not want to spend money on thousands of dollars of plastic surgery even if there is a medical reason. Insurance groups should work more like non-profit organizations; being benevolent and actually caring about the well-being of a person instead of worrying about whether someone's chemotherapy treatment is going to bankrupt them.

9. educating the public: This may seem trivial, but educating people about health and health-related issues can really make an impact. For example, the truth campaign, which seeks to educate people about the dangers of cigarettes and what cigarette companies don't want you to know, is only one such organization that is striving to help people make smart and healthy decisions for their lives. The more people make smart decisions, such as eating right, exercising, and avoiding drugs and alcohol, the more people can save their own money and reduce health care costs.

10. removing fees: There are so many associated with a doctor's visit that even people with insurance do not want to get a check-up. For example, to get health papers signed for my high school in order for me to play volleyball, my doctor charged us $20 just to sign what should have been signed for free! Removing these fees would make people happier, which could also make people more likely to go to the doctor if they are feeling sick before their sickness escalates into a more dangerous illness.

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Many people have their own ideas of how to reduce the health care costs in the United States; some of these claims may actually be reasonable while others are scams. Health care providers, as well as the general public, who are looking to reduce their yearly spending should be wary of such scams. Here is a list of some people/groups/organizations that are making such claims.

1. Mindshift Technologies
Mindshift Technologies claims to provide IT support for thousands of doctors and hospitals all around the world in order to make data retrieval and storage easier for health care professionals. According to the website, "you [meaning health care providers] have a lot on your plate, without the added difficulty of managing a complex and mission-critical IT infrastructure." This group seems to have a good point; if health records are digitized, problems with computers and technology could create very expensive problems for health care professionals so having IT experts could save both time and money. At the same time, this group seems very interested in putting a few extra dollars in its pockets; they throw around fancy computer phrases such as "SAS 70 type II data centers" to people who may not know what they mean (such as myself) in order to look more appealing to potential customers who may be impressed by such terminology.

2. iRobot

iRobot, the same company who created the Roomba vacuum cleaner, is proposing that robot nurses can help reduce the growing health care costs in this country. The CEO stated that these "nurses" could help monitor patients, especially the elderly who are confined to their homes; the "nurses" would help doctors examine, diagnose, and make sure that the person is taking medications on time. I feel that this is wishful thinking as of today; these robots would be very expensive and not covered by any standard insurance policies, so few people would want to spend a lot of money on one. This technology does look promising for the future, however. As this technology becomes less and less expensive, people will start to want it in their homes even if it is only to show-off. This company, being a for-profit company, will obviously benefit financially from these robots; this company's main objective is to make a profit, not solve the health care crisis.