Technology and Healthcare - 550 Words

Technology and Healthcare (Essay Sample) Content: Technology and Healthcare Student’s Name University Affiliation Technology and Healthcare Section 1 Computer hardware is part of the physical components forming a computer system. On the other hand, software refers to a set of programs running on a computer to perform some defined functions (Davis, 1973). Healthcare profession is one that provides curative, prevention, rehabilitative, as well as promotional health care services in a systematic manner to different people in society. Different types of hardware and software exist in the health care profession. Some of the hardware used in the profession includes desktop computers, printers, among others. Desktop computers are personal computers that health care staff uses regularly when carrying out their duties at different locations. This can be at the reception when a patient walks into the facility, or at the laboratory. In addition, desktop computers come with additional hardware confi guration, which includes the mouse, keyboard, monitor, among others. The printer is the other computer hardware common in the health care profession. It is an output device that reproduces documents stored in a computer. In the health care profession reproducing documents is common, making the printer a necessity. Moreover, there are some common software applications used in the health care profession. Some of these applications include Kareo, WebPT EMR, Medi Touch Electronic Health Record Software, among others. The Kareo is billing software that makes it possible for small health practices to save money and time. The WebPT EMR is software that assists health care professionals in managing patient scheduling, billing, as well as documents (McCormack, 2014). Lastly, the Medi Touch Electronic Health Record is software that makes it possible to manage medication, check allergies, listing problems, among others. It is possible to configure the software application to meet some persona l charting preferences for health care providers (McCormack, 2014). Section 2 Data refers to information that is in unorganized or raw form. Data are the raw facts collected for the purposes of processing. On the other hand, information refers to processed data, which is meaningful to the recipient (Davis, 1973). In the health care profession, there is data that is gathered and input into a computer. Some examples of such data are patient medical history, list of medical problems, imaging, and laboratory results, medication history, among others. A health care professional gathers this data and inputs it into a computer, as a way of keeping accurate patient data. This is essential because it ensures that a health facility has the history of a patient’s medical condition. This data is useful in case of a medical emergency. Moreover, in the health care profession, information comes from the data gathered and input from the computer. Examples of patient information output fr om a computer can include contact details, name, age, occupation, residence, ...