Originally Published MX July/August 2005

IT IN HEALTHCARE

As the ideal draws nearer to reality, medtech manufacturers should not miss the integration bandwagon.

Joseph Vinhais

The ubiquitous paper patient record, symbol of inefficient clinical management practices that are gradually being edged aside through the adoption of advanced health information technologies. (click to enlarge)

Over the past two decades, the development and adoption of information technologies (IT) have advanced at breathtaking speed. The first personal computer was built 30 years ago. Many people remember when the PC first arrived in their office, and now PCs are standard equipment in almost every office in the world. However, exponential advances in the ways information is exchanged, and people and equipment are connected, have created both opportunities and conundrums.