Technology can both help and harm health, but on balance it improves lives. Advances like X-rays and vaccines allow accurate diagnosis and disease prevention. Organ transplants and remote monitoring help save lives and manage conditions. However, medical devices sometimes fail or provide inaccurate information, and many online health sources give wrong advice. Overall, the benefits of medical technology outweigh the risks when properly implemented with oversight.

1. Technology will Save
our Minds and our
Bodies
Using technology to
improve health
Kristyn King

2. Is technology creating health
problems or helping us solve them?
What is medical technology?
• This term can be used to refer to the procedures, equipment,
and processes by which medical care is delivered
(Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007).

3. "Part of technology research is seeking to
understand the consequences of technology and
part of it is harnessing it for new uses,“
- Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH, director of the Divisio of Research at the
Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser Permanente, 2012).

4. A few advancements
that have helped us
along the way…

5. X-Rays
• Health care professionals use them to look for broken bones,
problems in your lungs and abdomen, cavities in your teeth
and many other problems. For example, mammograms use X-
rays to look for tumors or suspicious areas in the breasts.
• They are painless, fast and easy and the amount of radiation
exposure you receive during an X-ray examination is not
harmful (MedlinePlus, 2012).

6. Vaccines
• The most effective way to prevent and control vaccine-
preventable infections.
• Immunizing children is one of the most important ways to
protect their health and prevent serious diseases and/or
premature death due to infections (Health Canada, 2011).

7. Organ Transplants
• A person may need an organ transplant if one of their organs has
failed. This can happen because of illness or injury.
• Organs that can be transplanted include:
• Heart
• Intestine
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lung
• Pancreas
• Organ transplants can save lives and improve the quality of life for
people suffering from illness or organ failure (MedlinePlus, 2012).

8. Some chronic medical conditions can
now be managed over the internet
2 examples are :
• eCare for Moods – helps patients manage depression or
bipolar
• ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via E-mail) – promotes healthy
eating and physical activity

9. eCare for Moods
• Aims to improve a patient's ability to manage their moods, enlist the
aid of a care partner, and keep in regular contact with mental health
providers.
• Allows patients to monitor their personal symptoms and early
warning signs, daily functioning, and medication adherence and side
effects.
• Patients receive education, 24/7 advice, personalized action and
emergency plans, and have regular online exchanges with a
psychiatric nurse who monitors the web site daily.
• eCare for Moods uses information from the patient to individualize
care, update symptom profiles, add new coping strategies, and
automatically alert the nurse when a patient needs help
(Kaiser Permanente, 2012).

10. ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention
Via E-mail)
• Promotes physical activity and healthy eating using e-mail and a Web-
based tool.
• This program was developed in the fall of 2006, the yearlong program
was offered to KPNC regional employees and included a randomized
controlled study in which half of the group received 12 individually
tailored e-mail messages about healthy food and lifestyle choices. The
intervention group had a personal web page and was measured on
physical activity and dietary changes.
• Overall, compared to the control group, employees in the intervention
group increased on all measures of physical activity, and ate less
saturated fats and transfats and more fruit and vegetables.
• This program has the potential to work well in the work setting because
it is offered through e-mail and encourages social support, it is also very
cost effective and can be widely disseminated.
(Kaiser Permanente, 2012)

11. Negative Impact of Technology
When technology fails….
• Philips Healthcare recalled a faulty patient data exchange
system after finding that the tool sometimes sent incomplete
cardiology reports to patients' electronic health records.
• Physicians receiving the cardiology report were unaware that
the data was missing, raising the risk of misdiagnosis or
incorrect treatment decisions.
• According to the company there were no reports of patients
having been harmed by the defect, though a misdiagnosis or
incorrect treatment decision easily could have caused harm
(iHealthBeat, 2012).

12. Bad Online Advice
Study Finds Flaws in Web Search Results on Infant Sleep Safety
• 72% of surveyed U.S. adults said they trust all or most online health data
• For the study, researchers at the Children's National Medical Center in
Washington, D.C., analyzed 1,300 Google search results for 13 phrases related to
infant sleep safety, such as "infant sleep position“.
• The study analyzed the first 100 Google results for each phrase to see if the
information was up-to-date with recommendations from the American Academy
of Pediatrics .In total, the researchers looked at 1,300 websites and found that:
• 43.5% of the websites provided accurate data
• 28.4% provided irrelevant data
• 28.1% provided inaccurate data
(iHealthBeat, 2012).
• This demonstrates that not everything read online is the necessarily true or
accurate and you should always discuss health concerns with a phycisian.

13. Technology - Good or Bad?
• With an online society that has access to tons of inaccurate
health information and medical technologies that have a
potential of not working properly and leading to misdiagnosis
and incorrect treatment decisions it can sometimes cloud all
the good that comes from technological advancements.
• Thanks to medical technology doctors can make more
accurate diagnosis with x-rays, prevent diseases with vaccines,
and improve and save lives with organ transplants. Patients
can also now monitor chronic conditions such as depression
easier at home or work online.
• These technologies help people live longer, healthier, and
more dependant lives.

14. References
Health Canada. (2011). Childhood immunization. Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-
vs/iyh-vsv/med/immuniz-eng.php
iHealthBeat. (August 6, 2012). Study finds flaws in web search results on infant sleep safety.
Retrieved from: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/8/6/study-finds-flaws-in-web-
search-results-on-infant-sleep-safety.aspx
iHealthBeat. (July 23, 2012). Philips healthcare recalls faulty patient data exchange system.
Retrieved from:http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/7/23/philips-healthcare-recalls-
faulty-patient-data-exchange-system.aspx
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2007). How changes in medical technology affect health care costs.
Retrieved from: http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm030807oth.cfm
Kaiser Permanente. (2012). Using Technology to Improve Health. Retrieved from:
http://www.dor.kaiser.org/external/DORExternal/research_report/research_technology.aspx
MedlinePlus. (2012). Organ transplantation. Retrieved from:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/xrays.html
MedlinePlus. (2012). X-rays. Retrieved from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/xrays.html
NutritionQuest. (2009). Alive. Retrieved from: http://www.nutritionquest.com/wellness/