Innovations in Health Care Article

Innovations in Health Care Article

The global race towards efficiency and convenience has ushered in a technological era where various technologies execute most operationalizations in part. The healthcare sector continues to reap the benefits of these technologies. As the global technological arm continues to stretch over this sector, many healthcare technologies are set to find their way into clinical operationalization. The past century saw technological advances that inspired various health information technologies in current medical use. Technological imprints are currently evident in several healthcare areas, including medical diagnostics, information technology, and medical devices. An underlying factor in all these technologies is their ability to enhance the efficiency of healthcare services and optimize clinical outcomes. This paper details recent healthcare innovations with an emphasis on how they align with the dimensions of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s quadruple aims.

Recent Innovations in Healthcare

The healthcare landscape has seen the introduction of several innovations in recent times. Two of the most conspicuous innovations in current use are three-dimensional (3D) printing and wearable medical devices. 3D printing is perhaps the ultimate component of additive manufacturing that has dramatically changed healthcare operations. This innovation has demonstrated success in enhancing surgical procedures through the development of bone implants, organ models, synthetic skin, and personalized medical instruments (Kholgh Eshkalak et al., 2020). It has also been used to produce drugs that are utilizable in personalized medication. While its use began at the stroke of the new millennium, its disruptive effects have increasingly been felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the pandemic, when global logistics was negatively affected due to movement restrictions, many hospitals depended on this technology to manufacture medical devices. To date, this technology has assisted the manufacture of synthetic organs, skins, and biomaterials such as blood vessels and bones used in corrective surgical procedures.

Wearable medical devices are another recent technology that has revolutionized chronic care and patient monitoring. These devices maintain significance in tracking human vitals and have been used to assess biomarkers relevant to determining disease prognosis and the overall health of humans. Lu et al. (2020) report that the race towards developing wearable devices and the sophistication of already available devices, such as smartwatches, gained traction during the COVID pandemic when access to healthcare was a challenge. During this time, many hospitals resorted to the use of telemedicine, giving way to accompanying technologies such as wearable medical devices. Currently, many forms of medical devices exist in the healthcare market. Smartwatches such as the Apple watch can measure human vitals and relay findings to smart devices. Wearable ECG monitors have also been used to monitor cardiovascular functionalities and are essential for patients with cardiovascular illnesses. Other wearable devices currently in use include wearable blood pressure monitors and biosensors.

3D printing and wearable devices have an overreaching impact on healthcare operationalizations. While their use gained traction during the pandemic when healthcare resources were heavily stretched, their disruptive effect continues to be evident in the current healthcare landscape. 3D printing has enabled the production of synthetic organ models that help surgeons prepare for actual surgical procedures. Additionally, this technology has enabled bioprinting, which results in the production of prosthetic bones, blood vessels, and tissues that can be used in corrective surgery. The advent of 3D-printed medicines has provided the groundwork for personalizing medicines, as patients can receive medications that are suited to their indications. Overall, 3D printing has enabled the implementation of efficient, safe, and effective medical alternatives that guarantee better clinical outcomes. This also translates to cost-effective care.

Wearable devices have also impacted patient monitoring and chronic care immensely. These devices have eliminated the need for frequent hospital visitation and the care gap attributed to logistical challenges and proximity. By communicating aspects of human disease and biomarkers valuable in determining the need for hospital visits, these devices inform caregivers and their patients when to seek medical consultation and corrective measures necessary in reversing various diseases. Mobbs et al. (2020) note that wearable devices are enablers of remote caring and self-care as they give patients an insight into the physiological aspects of their body, which is valuable in informing disease processes and communicating these findings to their caregivers. This technology thus eliminates the need for frequent clinical visits, thereby lowering the logistical cost of pursuing healthcare services.

The DCH Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a frontier in telemedicine. This hospital was prompt in establishing a telemedicine center during the COVID pandemic and has been training patients transitioning to home-based for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular illnesses on various wearable devices. The hospital has enrolled tens of patients in its remote care program through a joint venture between the cardiovascular and the ICT departments. This program has seen the provision of wearable devices such as biosensors, wearable ECGs, and smartwatches to their patients.

Aligning the Impact of the Innovations with an Element of IHI Quadruple Aims and How the Innovations Have Impacted the Aim Selected

The IHI Quadruple Aims are targeted at optimizing healthcare performance. The dimensions detailed in the IHI framework include improving patient experience, improving population health, lowering the per capita cost of healthcare, and promoting the welfare of caregivers. The impact of 3D printing and the use of wearable devices are aligned with the element of improving population health. A point of consensus between the two technologies is their ability to optimize healthcare outcomes and lower the cost of healthcare. Optimization of healthcare outcomes, either by the use of sophisticated 3D devices or wearable devices, increases the quality of life of communities and assures their freedom from over-utilizing healthcare resources (Bhat, 2020). These provisions are in concert with the improving dimension of population health. As per this dimension, population health is guaranteed by the availability of quality and superior care, improvements in ongoing care, and connecting communities to various healthcare resources necessary for health preservation.

3D printing will effectively ensure high-quality care is provided to the patients. Through this technology, surgeons can sharpen their surgical skills using prosthetic anatomic models. The technology also allows the development of prosthetic organs necessary in various corrective surgical procedures. Overall, this technology has an impact on the quality of care received and ensures that care provided to the patients is effective, safe, efficient, and of high quality.

Wearable devices also act as valuable resources necessary for health preservation. Their use stems from the IHI provision that communities require access to healthcare resources that are valuable in health preservation. Enabling community access to these devices will enable them to participate in community health preservation efforts such as screening and assessment of risk to various illnesses.

The Innovation/Change DCH Proposes to Implement

In its pursuit to better the health of communities across Tuscaloosa city and vast west central Alabama, DCH embarked on a flagship project that will enhance its presence in the region. The hospital plans to establish a fully operational 3D printing center within the orthopedic department of the hospital. Priding itself as a leading center in corrective surgeries, the hospital seeks to utilize this technology in designing and producing prosthetic organs that are utilizable in corrective surgical procedures.

The move to establish a fully operational 3D center was inspired by the inefficiencies apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic related to disruptions in the supply of medical equipment. The hospital is moving to implement this technology because of its ability to facilitate the creation of various medical equipment as well as to aid corrective surgical procedures. Once established, this center will be used to produce personalized medical equipment and medicines. With bioprinting capabilities, this technology will be able to create prosthetic valves, bones, and implants to assist patients presenting with various deficiencies. This technology is also expected to provide a framework for personalizing medications given to patients. The hospital will also be able to sharpen their surgeons’ surgical skills by allowing them to practice on prosthetic anatomical organs produced by 3D printing.

Cardiovascular disorders are one of the leading presentations in the hospital. In the hospital’s pursuit to improve the care provided to patients with cardiovascular illnesses and those having difficulty adhering to their medication regimen, the hospital seeks to utilize 3D printing to manufacture polypills. This move may considerably lessen the pill burdens on patients taking several medications simultaneously, thereby guaranteeing better adherence. This move may also eliminate healthcare problems and toxicities associated with polypharmacy.

Conclusion

Technological advances in healthcare maintain significance in enhancing operationalization efficiency and care outcomes. Recent scientific innovations such as 3D printing and wearable devices have been used to better aspects of care operationalizations. As evident in the text, these technologies have enhanced care delivery and are aligned with the provisions of the IHI Quadruple Aim. Implementing these technologies is thus beneficial to healthcare organizations as they offer better guarantees of quality care and, subsequently, community health preservation.

 References

Bhat, S. (2020). Technology, Population Health, and human wellness. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, 100(4), 683–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41745-020-00207-z 

Kholgh Eshkalak, S., Rezvani Ghomi, E., Dai, Y., Choudhury, D., & Ramakrishna, S. (2020). The role of three-dimensional printing in healthcare and medicine. Materials & Design, 194, 108940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108940

Lu, L., Zhang, J., Xie, Y., Gao, F., Xu, S., Wu, X., & Ye, Z. (2020). Wearable Health Devices in Health care: Narrative systematic review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(11). https://doi.org/10.2196/18907

Mobbs, R. J., Ho, D., Choy, W. J., Betteridge, C., & Lin, H. (2020). COVID-19 is shifting the adoption of wearable monitoring and telemedicine (WearTel) in the delivery of healthcare: Opinion piece. Annals of Translational Medicine, 8(20), 1285–1285. https://doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-3678

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Innovations in Health Care Article

Select a healthcare organization with which you work or are familiar.

Assume you are the public relations director for your selected healthcare organization. You have been asked to prepare an article on several recent healthcare innovations or changes for an industry publication, describing why your organization proposes to adopt 1 of them.

Write a 1,225- to 1,575-word article from your organization’s perspective.

Address the following in your article:

• Review a minimum of 2 recent (within 3 to 5 years) innovations or changes in health care and their impact on existing systems (e.g., first- and second-movers, wearables, printed organs, genetic testing) related to your selected organization within the health care
• Align the impact of the innovations/changes with one element of the IHI Quadruple
• Include an analysis explaining how and why the innovations/changes impact the identified IHI Quadruple Aim
• Describe which innovation/change your organization is proposing to implement

Demonstrate the following within the article:

• Graduate-level writing
• Graduate-level analysis
• Meets standards for publication on a professional social media site