HCM307-0704A-01 The Health Care Industry - Phase 3 Discussion Board 2 Essay

HCM307-0704A-01 The Health Care Industry - Phase 3 Discussion Board 2 - Essay Example They found that the heavy costs of creating duplicate paperwork and sending it in several directions caused lost records, lost cost control and missed patient appointments. It’s a time-waster: Physicians have less and less time for patients. Is it going to take longer to work with these records than jotting down a few notes? While it still takes some learning, modern systems using PDA’s (hand-held devices), electronic pens and voice recognition (for some practices, like radiology) are well sorted-out and ready for prime time. Think about the time we’re wasting today: how long does it take to get a patient’s radiology films, his or her records from previous visits, and labs? How many times have you had to reach for the prescription pad and look up drug interactions? All of that can be handled from the PDA, including electronic transmission of the prescription to the pharmacy. It’s difficult to implement: It certainly requires changes on everyone’s part. A few years ago, implementing EMR with physicians meant installing PC’s on every desk, and requiring the physician to be tied to a chair while he/she laboriously put in all the needed patient data. Some physicians complained at having to learn new terms and change their workflow. Technology has become simpler and more intuitive to use. The ‘heavy lifting’ is done in the back, through servers and communicators. For physicians, the system is well thought-out and fits into our routine. There are so many vendors out there, how can they communicate? IT suppliers have been talking to one another through HL-7 protocols for years. The advent of new, open technologies like Java and XML have made it possible for different systems to talk to one another. Those horror stories about DICOM radiology images not blending with patient records? It’s all history now. And finally, â€Å"that sounds fine, but I’ll let my nurse do it.† The nurse and PA can certainly

Technological advances in criminal identification procedures Essay

Technological advances in criminal identification procedures - Essay Example DNA analysis is more specific, as each set of nucleic acid in each person is unique. In addition, as DNA from one person's body cell is identical in each cell in the body of that person, a cell sample can be obtained from any part of that person's body. Thus, persons can be identified by referring to a DNA database which compares and matches a person's genetic information other person's DNA profile found in that database (Gans and Urbas, 2002). DNA analysis still provides limited amounts of information about a person's characteristics though it is believed that in the near future, researches may come up with a better method of DNA analysis (National Institute of Justice 2000, pp. 18-19; van Oorschot et al. 2001). At present, the use of DNA analysis in the judicial system involves comparison of DNA from two origins, for example comparing DNA that came from the location of the crime and that from a criminal (Gans and Urbas, 2002). Biometrics is the identification method that identifies persons based on their behavior and psychological profile. Often, this method is preferred than others because a person must be present at the identification point at the instance of verification and it eliminates the need for the memorization of passwords and PIN numbers. Biometric profiles increases the level of security by restricting access to that particular person only and can be potentially used in the protection of certain valuables such as ATM cards, cell phones, PCs etc. It has many uses such as for criminology and forensics, but it may have several civilian uses as well in the near future (Ross et al, n.d.). Aside from not having to memorize keywords or PIN, biometric identification is very accurate and secure, can be done easily and quickly and no documents or paraphernalia is needed to use it ("Biometric identification - advantages", n.d.). Intra-agency databases for DNA Intra-agency databases for DNA are actually a collection of DNA records that can be easily accessed by different law enforcement agencies. This will speed up the identification of criminals and solving cases. Law enforcement and other government agencies have been left behind by other sectors in having efficient database systems. This is due to their dependency on public funds, which is often insufficient and/or hastily planned. This lack of a proper criminal identification system slows down or hinders the judicial process. Criminals are aware of this lack of identification system and thus put them at and advantage over the authorities (Schroeder et al, n.d.). FingerprintAn Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) analyses, compares and then matches an individual's set of fingerprints against a fingerprint database. This system has various uses including criminal, civilian, electoral, academic purposes etc ("Automated Fingerprint Identification System", 2006). It is recommended that fingerprint matching be done in two stages namely: "pattern- type combination search" and "minutiae matching".