It is very significant to recognize the impact of medical technology to society. I’ve been expounding the benefits it brought to us as well as the disadvantages. After reading many articles, I made a generalization that medical technology is very important and should be implemented despite its downside. However, as I have continued to study this topic, I have discovered that medical technology actually has caused a huge growth financially in healthcare. There’s a widespread belief that medical costs in United States are so incredibly high because of a steady increase in medical technology used to improve people’s life, this is especially important to those who are aging and have low quality of life. Despite the intensifying costs, it is still implemented and most people accept the cost of the innovations as simply the price of an improved and better life!
Now I want to argue this question, should we limit the expansion of medical technology due to the extraordinarily rapid rise in expense of healthcare? As of today, medical technology is the main cost driver in healthcare field, there is numerous equipment and devices that have been developed that provide convenience and advanced treatment for medical conditions. However, people are often unaware that some of these medical devices are not worth the expense. The government is not always aware of what will be the helpful technology. They continue to utilize technology that are less beneficial and sometimes not even use at all. Another factor that contributes to the costs is the unnecessary tests and procedures done by healthcare providers to patients. They often conduct medical examinations that are not even needed by the patient. This is because of high reliance and dependency in technology. Also, the redundant and inappropriate usage of medical equipment paves way to the rising costs. Medical staff overly uses some equipment and sometimes they repeat medical procedures to be sure of the results. These factors are considered the “waste” that exists in the medical field which is why healthcare costs are exorbitant. And this is the underlying truth that are not revealed and remain unnoticed.
Why should people be concerned about this topic? It is simply because it is they who are benefiting from the advanced care and it is they who pay the taxes which contribute to the funding of medical and research technology. People should be concerned and aware how their funds are utilized, is it spent wisely and efficiently in this extraordinarily expensive field of health insurance and medical technology. The audience of my topic includes the people who work in the health care field, students who are interested in medical careers and everyday people. At some point we all will eventually visit a hospital for urgent health reasons and this is why it is really important for us to understand how the technology improves our health condition and also what the negative consequences of medical technology can be to us. I am not advocating people to limit their usage of technology. I favor in pursuing advances in medical field for it has a number of advantages such as extending life of aging people who have less years to live. I believe it is the government’s responsibility to determine which technology are helpful and which are harmful to people. It is also their responsibility to manage well the technology being implemented in the medical setting such as testing it first before making it available to public. In this way we are decreasing the healthcare costs while increasing our standard of living.