Over many years, information technology has been utilized well. Natural and global disasters have occurred causing uproars of pandemics and epidemics through the years. As this happens, information technology becomes effective and the world of medicine begins to utilize it well. In this research paper, I will begin to discuss many topics such as: how information technology has transformed the future of public health, how information technology is used in natural and global disasters, how information technology is used in pandemics and epidemics, and lastly, I will discuss the types of technology that were used over the years and how they were applied.
Information technology has transformed the future of public health in many ways and has been utilized very effectively over the years. According to Drew Hendricks, a writer for the Huffingtonpost, the main three changes of how technology is changing the medical and health care field are: population science for treating epidemics, evidence-based guidelines, and electronic medical records. (‘How Technology Is Changing the Medical and Health Care Field,’ 2015). When we look at population science for treating epidemics, it’s amazing what this new technology has done and what public health workers can do with the information gathered.
With population science, major growing medical concerns such as heart disease and cancer are epidemics that are continuously growing. Epidemics like these allow doctors to treat the whole population now. With the field of health care constantly changing and evolving, disease comes with it and continues to grow and evolve. Evidence-based guidelines make the world of health care a lot easier for doctors and allow doctors to find the cause of a disease and the best method to treat the disease.
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With information technology, electronic medical records have transformed the world of health care professionals, as well as, public health professionals. Paper charting and filing were using to store the patient health information in a few years ago, and with technology advancements it’s now been transformed to an electronic version. Electronic medical records were a huge advancement for the medical field because now this data can be easily accessed electronically instead of digging around for a paper chart.
Public health and information technology are utilized in both natural and global disasters around the world. Public health has responded to global and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the disasters that occurred in Japan such as the earthquake and tsunami disaster that had taken place. On August 29, 2005, a horrendous natural disaster had occurred. Making landfall as a category five hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 miles per hour, was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans and pummeled the Gulf Coast drastically. When hurricanes occur, technology and public health are both utilized. Computers are used in many ways before and after a hurricane.
Computers are used to model the outcomes of hurricanes, such as their projected paths before a hurricane takes place and the effects after a hurricane has occurred. Unfortunately, during Hurricane Katrina a public health plan was not in place before the storm and many were affected by this. A tragic event took place, taking the lives of eleven individuals on April 20, 2010. This event is known as, the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Spilling 4.9 million barrels of oil, and lasting for eighty-five days, this tragic event that took place killed abundant wildlife as well as polluted the water for which the oil emptied into. The oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and caused a major uproar. During this event that taken place, both public health and information technology were both utilized effectively during this natural and global disaster. Public health officials were involved by doing a telephone survey.
Over nine-hundred interviews were conducted by the Public Policy Research Lab at Louisiana State University. The survey concluded that most of the population were stressed, considered moving, or were noticing side effects related to the oil spill. Information technology was utilized by NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during this natural disaster. During the oil spill, NOAA used computer models to see who would likely take on the affects of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill that occurred in 2010. Occurring in Japan on March 11, 2011 was a 9.0-magnitude earthquake. Usually when an earthquake that size hits, it can be followed by a tsunami, and that is what happened on this day.
After the earthquake hit, thirty-foot waves followed shortly after causing major devastation and loss of life. Information technology was implemented during this natural disaster by NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well. During this natural disaster, waves were continuously making there way to the coasts of North and South America, and with the help of NOAA we knew the timing and intensity of this tsunami making its way up the coast. With the use of information technology and the help of public health we can implement them effectively and efficiently in both natural and global disasters around the world.
Information technology and public health have been used over many years to help counteract epidemics. According to our text, Information Technology for the Heath Professionals, “an epidemic is an excess in the number of cases of a given health problem…. To determine what constitutes an excess implies knowing what is normal or to be expected.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 104). Epidemics have always caused a great deal of deprivation, but as new advancements arise in technology and public health is involved, medicine learns and continues to grow from their strengths and weaknesses.
There have been many diseases throughout our time, and luckily so far, public health has done tremendous in containing these epidemics. Some of these epidemics that have occurred are: smallpox, polio, the plague, and yellow fever. I’m going to discuss how information technology and public health have helped in containing smallpox and polio. Over many centuries, techniques for having immunity for smallpox included: the use of infected needle insertion into a vein in Constantinople and taking a pulverized scab and inhaling the dust in China. In the 1900’s, club-wielding police were used during a smallpox epidemic during antivaccination movements. Coming into the 20th century, vaccinations were being used to treat these epidemics now such as smallpox. Polio was another epidemic that had begun in the 20th century and was very hard to get toggled by public health officials. It took many years to develop a vaccine for polio. Overall, throughout the course of history, this is how information technology and public health have been used over the years to help counteract epidemics.
Information technology and public health have been used over many years to help counteract pandemics. According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, “a pandemic is a global disease outbreak to which everyone is susceptible.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 106). Over many years, there have been diseases and outbreaks that have caused pandemics. When a pandemic occurs, it causes major devastation and loss of life throughout the globe. Some of the diseases and outbreaks that have caused pandemics are the flu and AIDS. In the very beginning when the flu first came about, public health officials had health care personnel try many techniques to try to prevent the spread of the disease.
Some of the techniques that worked during this time were educating the public on sanitation and disinfection, disinfection in health care facilities, and using antiseptics to gargle with. AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is another pandemic that is occurring till this day and continues to affect many people. With the AIDS pandemic, there is yet to be, no, cure available yet. A way that information technology is involved in epidemics and pandemics today, is with WHO, or the World Health Organization. “The WHO now requires the reporting of any disease that could cross the international border.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 106). According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, “For the latest information on epidemic and pandemic alert and response, the WHO maintains a Web page at http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 106). Overall, throughout the course of history, this is how information technology and public health have been used over the years to help counteract pandemics.
There are various types of information technology employed throughout the course of history, and I will briefly discuss those and how they were applied. When we first began to look at the course of our history and all the advancements continuously made, computers played many various roles in the studying of diseases and preventing epidemics and pandemics. Models, scenarios, and simulations are created by computers and can tell various things about an infectious disease. The use of the computer models can help public health officials in many ways, and one way, is by helping them prepare globally for outbreaks. ONCHIT, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, NEDSS, the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System, and MIDAS, Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study are some other various ways information technology has helped combat disease.
According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, one-way ONCHIT is applied through information technology is by, “proposing a national interoperable network of health care institutions and public health agencies to gather and disseminate information in a timely manner.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 110). NEDSS is applied through information technology using surveillance through the Internet that can transfer various types of data reconciliation files. NEDSS is very useful in epidemics and is a major part of the public health system. According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, one-way MIDAS is applied through information technology is by, “developing computational models of the interactions between infectious agents and their hosts, disease spread, prediction systems and response strategies.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 111). Through ONCHIT, NEDSS, and MIDAS it just comes to show you how useful computers are in information technology against combating disease and how computers are applied through information technology.
Radiology is one various way information technology is applied throughout health care and public health. There are various ways radiology is utilized and applied through information technology. Various techniques include x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, PET scans, and many other various scans throughout the imaging world. According to Cynthia E. Keen, Technology Management, “Radiology is an IT-intensive specialty, one that mandates an investment in information technology and continuous updates that is substantially greater than other medical specialties.” (Keen, 2015). One major area that is continuously booming in radiology is digital technology and the use of x-rays. X-rays are still used for various areas and reasons such as broken bones, for mammograms, and even at dental offices. With the uses of digital imaging such as x-rays and mammography, it helps save and cut down on health care costs and expenses. Overall, this is how radiology is used in information technology and applied throughout health care and public health.
Surgery is another various way information technology is applied throughout health care and public health. Surgery has dominated the world of information technology with its various uses of computer-assisted surgeries and the use of robotics. To name a few of the robotic devices that have been used in surgeries and operations, they include: ROBODOC, AESOP, ZEUS, da Vinci, MINERVA, NeuroArm, and many other various robotic devices. Another way surgery has dominated information technology and how it is applied is through NEEMO, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation. NEEMO, is operated by scientists and astronauts, that undergo underwater sea missions in a research station.
Located sixty-two feet below the surface, and 5.6 kilometers off the Florida Keys lays Aquarius, where the research missions can last up to three weeks. (‘About NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations),’ 2015). How NEEMO is applied in information technology is by using different various surgical techniques to see if the doctors in Aquarius could possibly perform surgery. According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, “telepresence surgery is at the cutting edge of telemedicine.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 167). According to SRI International, telepresence surgery, “is also ideally suited to help disease control specialists treat patients infected by highly contagious deadly viruses.” (‘Telepresence Surgery | SRI International,’ 2018). Overall, this is how surgery is used in information technology and applied throughout health care and public health.
Pharmacy is another various way information technology is applied throughout health care and public health. Pharmacy is used in many different aspects of information technology such as with telepharmacy, nanotechnology, and the approval of prescription medication. One-way pharmacy is utilized in information technology is with the Human Genome Project. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “the Human Genome Project was the international, collaborative research program whose goal was the complete mapping and understanding of all the genes of human beings.” (‘Overview of the Human Genome Project,’ 2016).
A major advancement in pharmacy is with nanotechnology, although it’s still being experimented with, it has a very huge potential. One of it’s possible potentials is with treating skin cancer. According to our text, Information Technology for the Health Professionals, “when nanoparticles are introduced into the bloodstream, they are able to bind to the surface of skin cells and prevent the delivery of genetic codes delivered by RNA that would otherwise give instructions to make more cancer cells through…RNA interference.” (Burke, L. & Weill, B., Pg. 197). Overall, this is how pharmacy is used in information technology and applied throughout health care and public health.
Overall, as you the viewer can see, information technology has transformed the future of public health. As natural and global disasters continuously occur throughout our time, our future of medicine and technology will only continue to advance and grow. We as people, learn from what hasn’t been so effective in the past and continue to build and only make things superior for what lays ahead. In this research paper, I discussed topics such as: how information technology transformed the future of public health, how information technology is used in natural and global disasters, how information technology is used in pandemics and epidemics, and lastly, I discussed the types of technology that were used over the years and how they were applied.
