Tech Topic Discussion - Healthcare Technology Management and Information Technology

 

 

Tech Topic Connection:

 

Healthcare Technology Management focuses on Medical equipment to save people's lives all across the world. In recent years, the industry has shifted and begun integrating to be more technologically focused. Medical equipment is finding its way onto corporate Healthcare networks, either wired or wireless fashions. Converging Biomedical, medical devices, and Information Technology will bring life-saving devices to the next level.

Each medical device has some programming on how the device operates. Keystrokes and operations are all driven by an embedded program in that the CPU receives instructions. Devices such as IV pumps receive initial programming via application and connection dongle to receive drug libraries via wireless networks to ensure all pumps across an enterprise healthcare system have the same version of the drug library. This method promotes standardization and reduces drug misadministration.

Another example of software influence is with EKG machines. When a nurse takes an EKG of a patient, the nurse can send the report to electronic health systems wirelessly without printing and scanning it into the network system. This functionality is possible by software programming loaded to the kernel to instruct the machine to use the network and programmed code to send the report electronically to downstream health systems.

There is more emphasis on security hardening with medical devices. Historically, vendors have not focused on security as their devices were not on Healthcare networks. With the rise in security breaches and more medical devices landing on corporate Healthcare networks, the posture of medical vendors has changed. Healthcare organizations are hardening their security postures and mandating that vendors do the same. If devices don't meet the hospital's security standards, the organizations will no longer do business and find a new vendor. This is ushering in fierce competition for medical technology vendors to win hospital contracts.

Continuing with security, medical wearable devices are becoming the norm in the Healthcare space. The Internet of Things is changing healthcare and medical devices. Moreover, companies realize that more investments must be made in recruiting and infrastructure to ensure their wearable is safe in and off corporate networks.

Management of Healthcare Technology Devices is challenging. Many of these devices are mobile and move between hospital units many times per day. Active and Passive RFID is helping solve the problem of missing equipment which costs healthcare organizations millions of dollars a year over year. Organizations are investing heavily to be able to track and locate devices at any given time. RFID is being leveraged to locate devices missing security patches from network scans of vulnerabilities. This visibility helps close significant security gaps and ensures that patient information is safe and secure. Although RFID is not a perfect technology, it gives Healthcare leaders an advantage.

Big Iron devices such as CT and MRI scanners rely heavily on an internal database to catalog patient information and the associate image sets. These scanners leverage vendor-proprietary database software. Once the image set is sent to a downstream system such as a Radiology PACS system, these images can be deleted from the CT or MRI scanner. All associated database reference pointers are removed. Imaging devices are becoming more technologically advanced in a specific way.

In the Radiation Oncology space, Radiation linear accelerators with built-in MRIs can take images of cancer tumors, contour the tumor for planning and apply new radiation doses while the patient is on the couch receiving Radiation. This technology is not possible without a high-powered CPU and advanced computer programming.