One of the weakest points in the health care industry is the massive backlog of paperwork, including patient records, insurance forms and the sharing of patient information 
between medical facilities to assure the best over all care for each patient. Another weakness in the medical industry is in the care of the millions of people suffering from diseases like diabetes, hypoglycemia and heart disease that need constant monitoring. Many new technologies are now available to improve medical treatment and communications and there is help for medical facilities to learn how to use these innovations.
Health IT–Health Information Technology
New technology has been made available to solve the massive medical information distribution problems. The Department Of health has a new department called the Office of health Information Technology Transformation whose purpose is to help coordinate heath IT programs and polices for all private and public health care facilities. This whole program should make it possible to better disseminate medical information to doctors, clinicians and patients to insure better medical decisions and coordinated health care and preventive health programs. It will also help medical professionals get more timely reimbursement from government and insurance companies. This saves millions in medical costs every year.
Technology Can Help Treat Patients With Diabetes
Though the use of technology in the treatment of diabetes has been slow, new progress is being made. The advent of insulin pumps and home glucose monitoring products was a great start, but in the last few years some really exiting developments have come. New computer programs to support analysis of the home glucose testing data are improving the care of diabetes patients. Insulin pens and other more convenient insulin delivery methods are helping thousand treat their diabetes with less pain. New technologies are insuring improved measurement and monitoring. Subcutaneous glucose sensors are now a daily part of diabetes treatment.
Children With Diabetes Benefit Greatly From Use Of Insulin Pumps
Because of today’s medical technology advances, children with diabetes have fewer diabetic episodes and a decrease in sever hypoglycemia. Insulin pump therapy is much better than the old method of many daily insulin shots. Children with diabetes on insulin pumps have better blood glucose control than ever before. Related health problems like eye, heart disease and kidney problems caused by too high levels of blood glucose have been avoided or lessened in many patients. Children on insulin pumps avoid the blood sugar highs and lows and so feel better and stay healthier as they get older.
Some Companies Have Been At The Forefront Of Inventing And Marketing Diabetes Technology
Roche is a company making the ACCU-CHEK Spirit insulin pump. They are a huge advancement in insulin delivery being able to deliver up to 480 basal doses of insulin in a 24 hour period. The system has a palm device and software to determine the patients doses and creates charts and graphs to record patient progress.
A small Bethesada located company called Telcare has invented a blood glucose monitoring system that has a glucose meter connected to wireless connectivity and their “cloud” server. This allows for a two way open connection between caregivers and their patients. Things like weight management, exercise plans, nutrition recording and blood pressure statistics can also be on this network.
PositiveID Corp is another company that has new glucose technology. A wireless communication device allows automatic transmission of reading for blood glucose for data capable glucometers to data bases.
There are more exiting developments available now and being tested. For more information on technology for the medical field go to www.healthit@health.state.ny.us or http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-kramer/technology-in-health-care_b_840783.html or just key in “health care and the new technology” and choose the sites that interest you.
V. M. Fortie writes for Mediterraneabook.com blog. It’s the blog of the national board for the preservation of the Italian healthy eating traditions. They offer a free news-letter and a free meal planner software with a sample of healthy diet for diabetic to help people learn how to prevent diabetes with diet.