Technology and Medical Practice


Book Description

The advanced technologies being used in diagnosis and care within modern medicine, whilst supporting and making medical practices possible, may also conflict with established traditions of medicine and care. What happens to the patient in a technologized medical environment? How are doctors', nurses' and medical scientists' practices changed when artefacts are involved? How is knowledge negotiated, or relations of power reconfigured? Technology and Medical Practice addresses these developments and dilemmas, focusing on various practices with technologies within hospitals and sociotechnical systems of care. Combining science and technology studies with medical sociology, the history of medicine and feminist approaches to science, this book presents analyses of artefacts-in-use across a variety of settings within the UK, USA and Europe, and will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of science and technology alike.




Advancing Medical Practice Through Technology


Book Description

"This book focuses on the latest medical practices through the utilization of technologies and innovative concepts"--




Biomedicine Examined


Book Description

The culture of contemporary medicine is the object of investigation in this book; the meanings and values implicit in biomedical knowledge and practice and the social processes through which they are produced are examined through the use of specific case studies. The essays provide examples of how various facets of 20th century medicine, including edu cation, research, the creation of medical knowledge, the development and application of technology, and day to day medical practice, are per vaded by a value system characteristic of an industrial-capitalistic view of the world in which the idea that science represents an objective and value free body of knowledge is dominant. The authors of the essays are sociologists and anthropologists (in almost equal numbers); also included are papers by a social historian and by three physicians all of whom have steeped themselves in the social sci ences and humanities. This co-operative endeavor, which has necessi tated the breaking down of disciplinary barriers to some extent, is per haps indicative of a larger movement in the social sciences, one in which there is a searching for a middle ground between grand theory and attempts at universal explanations on the one hand, and the context-spe cific empiricism and relativistic accounts characteristic of many historical and anthropological analyses on the other.




Medical Innovation


Book Description

This book brings together a collection of empirical case studies featuring a wide spectrum of medical innovation. While there is no unique pathway to successful medical innovation, recurring and distinctive features can be observed across different areas of clinical practice. This book examines why medical practice develops so unevenly across and within areas of disease, and how this relates to the underlying conditions of innovation across areas of practice. The contributions contained in this volume adopt a dynamic perspective on medical innovation based on the notion that scientific understanding, technology and clinical practice co-evolve along the co-ordinated search for solutions to medical problems. The chapters follow an historical approach to emphasise that the advancement of medical know-how is a contested, nuanced process, and that it involves a variety of knowledge bases whose evolutionary paths are rooted in the contexts in which they emerge. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners concerned with medical innovation, management studies and the economics of innovation. Chapter 5 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 3.0 license.




Consumer-Driven Technologies in Healthcare: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice


Book Description

The world of medical technologies is undergoing a sea change in the domain of consumer culture. Having a grasp on what appeals to consumers and how consumers are making purchasing decisions is essential to the success of any organization that thrives by offering a product or service. As such, it is vital to examine the consumer-centered aspects of medical technological developments that have a patient-centered focus and allow patients to take part in their own personal health and wellness. Consumer-Driven Technologies in Healthcare: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a critical source of academic knowledge on the use of smartphones and other technological devices for cancer therapy, fitness and wellness, chronic disease monitoring, and other areas. The tracking of these items using technology has allowed consumers to take control of their own healthcare. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as clinical decision support systems, patient engagement, and electronic health records, this publication is an ideal reference source for doctors, nurse practitioners, hospital administrators, medical professionals, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers interested in advancing medical practice through technology.




Advancing Medical Practice through Technology: Applications for Healthcare Delivery, Management, and Quality


Book Description

Medical practitioners are continuing to advance their knowledge of the latest technologies in order to keep up with the opportunities for faster and more reliable treatments for patients. Advancing Medical Practice through Technology: Applications for Healthcare Delivery, Management, and Quality focuses on the latest medical practices through the utilization of technologies and innovative concepts. This book is an essential reference source for researchers, academics, and industry professionals interested in the latest advancements in the healthcare, biomedicine, and medical communications fields.




Technology and Medical Practice


Book Description

The advanced technologies being used in diagnosis and care within modern medicine, whilst supporting and making medical practices possible, may also conflict with established traditions of medicine and care. What happens to the patient in a technologized medical environment? How are doctors', nurses' and medical scientists' practices changed when artefacts are involved? How is knowledge negotiated, or relations of power reconfigured? Technology and Medical Practice addresses these developments and dilemmas, focusing on various practices with technologies within hospitals and sociotechnical systems of care. Combining science and technology studies with medical sociology, the history of medicine and feminist approaches to science, this book presents analyses of artefacts-in-use across a variety of settings within the UK, USA and Europe, and will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of science and technology alike.




Healthcare Information Technology for Cardiovascular Medicine


Book Description

This unique book comprehensively reviews how information technology is changing cardiovascular medical practice. Chapters include a wide range of topics from specific technologies and virtual care education to large system implementation. Extensive illustrative material and specific case studies are included throughout to reinforce key concepts and enable the reader to develop an understanding of how information technology is impacting medical practice. Health equity, medicolegal ethics, and regulatory considerations are also covered. Healthcare Information Technology for Cardiovascular Medicine: Telemedicine & Digital Health provides a foundation for better understanding how these technologies impact cardiovascular care delivery. Its comprehensive analysis enables healthcare providers and other stakeholders to enhance clinical practice through digital health implementation.




Management of Medical Technology


Book Description

This is the second book in the series of books that we edit on the Management of Medical Technology (MMT) published by Kluwer Academic Publishers. The fIrst book Managing Technology in Health Care offered a broad-brushed view of the topics involved in the new and exciting area of MMT that we have launched. A group of distinguished scholars contributed to the fIrst book. While working on the first book in the series, and on a variety of articles in MMT, we began to realize that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and highly focused book which will introduce and define the area of MMT. In addition, we had just completed the two studies of MMT in American hospitals, and had a magnificent database fully analyzed. With three months left in the first author's sabbatical, and thanks to the encouragement from our editor at Kluwer, Gary Folven, we took to the task of writing this book. The merging in this book of the description of a new intellectual space, and the write-up of the results from our MMT studies have created a unique blend of very attractive reading material. The reader will find this book to be a fascinating adventure into a newly-created area of intellectual endeavor, coupled with fIndings about how the health care delivery system manages teclUlology. Regardless of the reader's background, this book will certainly be of interest, as it links the medical and business frameworks.




Innovation in Medical Technology


Book Description

This thought-provoking study examines the ethical, legal, and social problems that arise with cutting-edge medical technology. Using as examples four powerful and largely unregulated technologies—off-label use of drugs, innovative surgery, assisted reproduction, and neuroimaging—Margaret L. Eaton and Donald Kennedy illustrate the difficult challenges faced by clinicians, researchers, and policy makers who seek to advance the frontiers of medicine safely and responsibly. Supported by medical history and case studies and drawing on reports from dozens of experts, the authors address important practical, ethical, and policy issues. They consider topics such as the responsible introduction of new medical products and services, the importance of patient consent, the extent of the duty to mitigate harm, and the responsibility to facilitate access to new medical therapies. This work's insights into the nature and consequences of medical innovation contribute to the national debate on how best to protect patients while fostering innovation and securing benefits.