Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Healthcare

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Healthcare

Last Updated: September 4, 2023

Technology is growing day by day in every field. There are lots of transformations brought to healthcare by medical technology.

Like the positive effects, we have some negative impacts of technology as well in the healthcare industry and medical field.

In this article, we will discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of medical technology in medicine and healthcare.

Technology advantages and disadvantages in healthcare infographic
Infographic: Technology advantages and disadvantages in healthcare

Let’s start with the Good impact of technology in healthcare.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Healthcare

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Advantages of Technology in Healthcare

Following are the detailed advancements of medical technology in the healthcare field.

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1. Reduction in medical errors

As a result of their frequency and unavoidability, medical errors have become a source of public anxiety. Approximately 98,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors in hospitals and healthcare facilities. With the aid of technological advancements, medical mistakes have been reduced and more lives have been saved.

2. Easy access to patient medical records

Technology makes it easier to manage your patient’s health records. The patient’s medical information is stored in the local database or in the cloud servers.

Most doctors and medical facilities use computers to store their patient’s complete health records. Keeping records in the computerized system is faster than on paper. Compared to paper records, it takes less time.

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3. Communication Systems

To communicate with doctors or nurses, patients have access to a number of devices. Hospitals usually place these machines in the patient’s room ward. Patients in an emergency can press these devices. Patient condition can inform when doctors and nurses should arrive. The doctor will be able to reach patients without wasting time. Technology has many advantages for patients and doctors alike in the practice of nursing.

4. Genome Sequencing

Several experts believe personal genomics will transform healthcare in the near future. An individual’s genome is sequenced and studied through the process of personal genomics, and that information is then presented to that individual. Over the last 40 years, the sequencing of the human genome has been one of medical science’s greatest achievements.

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5. 3D Printing

Bones and many interior organs could be replicated using 3D printing technology. A patient’s ill or bothersome parts can be replaced by artificial organs and bones.

3D printing can also be used by surgeons to gain a better understanding of how their patients’ bodies work. Before performing any specific procedure on a patient, a surgeon can examine a 3D model and consider possible solutions or treatments.

These were some of the advantages of technology in healthcare, now let’s discuss the disadvantages as well.

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Disadvantages of Technology in Healthcare

Following are the detailed negative impacts of technology in healthcare.

1. Frustrations Revolving around Poor Tech implementation

The best technology is one that works well. Asurion found that 80% of Americans experience at least one frustrating experience every day due to poor implementation of technology.

It is critical that the technologies involved in the healthcare industry work accurately, without glitches, and ultimately improve the quality of patient care given to patients because it is one industry where life and death can be decided in an instant.

The problem is that AI and machine learning rely heavily on historical data and may have significant difficulty adapting to operational data, leading to significant mismatches. Taking into account that these issues do not occur in all cases, clinicians may become complacent as a result.

Incomplacency can result in failing to cross-check the predictions of the system with alternatives. Overreliance is highly risky, and we have to wait and see whether it works for the clinician or not!

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2. Increased cost of Treatment for the Patients

The high cost of therapy is the downside of medical technology. Treatments involving technological machinery such as robotic surgery are quite expensive.

Rural areas are populated with poor patients. It is impossible for poor patients to afford expensive surgeries.

Healthcare has improved with medical technology but it has also become more expensive. It is impossible for lots of patients to pay for their basic healthcare needs.

3. Empathy Lacking in Doctor-Patient Interactions

Patients and physicians have benefited greatly from telehealth because it allows them to stay in touch despite distances. In the era of telehealth, clinicians are increasingly abandoning one-off consultations.

However, technology acts as a mediator in all of this. Despite making sense from a cost reduction and efficiency perspective, the human touch is missing.

Patients crave the touch of an empathic human, which is not provided by connected devices or dashboards. Elderly patients are particularly vulnerable to this. The treatment plan may be confusing for them, and they may have confusion regarding the diagnosis.

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4. Damaging Cells and Organs of the Body of the Patients

A lot of people use lasers for operations nowadays. Body cells may be damaged by lasers. Other internal organs can be damaged by it, which is very harmful.

Brain cancer was dissolved with them in the 1980s and 1990s. Traditional methods of cutting, suctioning, or perforating tumors are considered to be less precise.

Last but not least, statistics demonstrate that lasers are expensive and slow. There seems to be no improvement in long-term outcomes for patients, and in some cases, they’re worse than ever.

5. Show the Wrong Result of the Patient’s Condition

Healthcare technology can occasionally produce incorrect results because of malfunctioning equipment or technical instruments. Patient results were not always up-to-date for doctors.

Technical machines are created by engineers and programmers. The occasional mistake or problem does occur.

If the results are incorrect and the doctor diagnoses the patient incorrectly, the patient’s life is at risk.

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Conclusion on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Healthcare

As you read, technology has both advantages and disadvantages in the healthcare industry. The conclusion isn’t something to say like technology is helpful or it’s not.

No, we already discussed in detail that portion. The main thing is we still need to improve medical technology to save more lives and reduce the errors which sometimes make it worse than good.


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Ahmad Ali

Ahmad Ali (Author)

Ahmad Ali has been a technology enthusiast and writer for the past 5 years having vast knowledge of technology.

Rehmat Ullah

Rehmat Ullah (Content Reviewer)

Rehmat Ullah is a software engineer and CEO of Softhat IT Solutions. He is an expert technologist, entrepreneur, and educationist.

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