It seems like an oxymoron to think that spending millions of dollars on medical research can actually save money. Yet, it’s true! Researchers are spending millions of dollars to find new technology that will improve health, get quicker diagnoses, and better medicine, but this spending actually equals savings for the consumer in the end. In a world where it seems that everything is rising in cost, it’s nice to know the medical field is doing something to help with rising costs.
Perhaps you don’t believe this is true. If you don’t believe it, you’re not alone. But consider this scenario. Park Memorial Hospital spent $11 million dollars on an archive and communication system that would include pictures in the hospital’s digital radiology department. The system store those pictures for future reference. Since implementing this system, the hospital has saved $1.5 million dollar in film costs and another $400,000 dollars in personnel costs by implementing this new system.
Need another example? How about this. Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas spent over a million dollars for equipment to be used in the pharmacy department. This includes a robot that uses a bar code to sort and dispense medications. This technology reduces errors, which reduces money that is spent. Pharmacists are also able to enter orders into a computer system that will check for any deadly or harmful drug interactions. This does much more than save money – this technology could actually save a life!
On the outside, it would appear that medical technology costs a lot of money. You may even think that this money is better spent elsewhere. But when you consider the advancements that the technology offers and the money that it saves a hospital, it’s clear that the investment in medical technology is well worth the cost. Afterall, the next time you are in the hospital, don’t you want the latest and greatest technology to help heal you?