1,211 research outputs found

    The \u27Uberization\u27 of Healthcare: The Forthcoming Legal Storm Over Mobile Health Technology\u27s Impact on the Medical Profession

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    The nascent field of mobile health technology is still very small but is predicted to grow exponentially as major technology companies such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and even Facebook have announced mobile health initiatives alongside influential healthcare provider networks. Given the highly regulated nature of healthcare, significant legal barriers stand in the way of mobile health’s potential ascension. I contend that the most difficult legal challenges facing this industry will be restrictive professional licensing and scope of practice laws. The primary reason is that mobile health threatens to disrupt historical power dynamics within the healthcare profession that have legally enshrined physicians as the primary decision-makers and economic earners within the healthcare industry. In the near term, mobile health represents a potential redistribution of medical authority and financial power to technology companies and lesser-trained medical providers (nurses, physician assistants, etc.) at the expense of physicians. In the long-term, mobile health threatens to transform healthcare into a primarily “providerless” service, in the same fashion mobile taxi app company Uber envisions “driverless” taxis. Therefore, I conclude that while mobile health holds out tantalizing potential to improve upon the cost and accessibility of healthcare, there will be significant resistance to licensing and scope of practice reforms until broader political economy questions concerning the long-term viability of the medical profession are answered

    The \u27Uberization\u27 of Healthcare: The Forthcoming Legal Storm Over Mobile Health Technology\u27s Impact on the Medical Profession

    Full text link
    The nascent field of mobile health technology is still very small but is predicted to grow exponentially as major technology companies such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and even Facebook have announced mobile health initiatives alongside influential healthcare provider networks. Given the highly regulated nature of healthcare, significant legal barriers stand in the way of mobile health’s potential ascension. I contend that the most difficult legal challenges facing this industry will be restrictive professional licensing and scope of practice laws. The primary reason is that mobile health threatens to disrupt historical power dynamics within the healthcare profession that have legally enshrined physicians as the primary decision-makers and economic earners within the healthcare industry. In the near term, mobile health represents a potential redistribution of medical authority and financial power to technology companies and lesser-trained medical providers (nurses, physician assistants, etc.) at the expense of physicians. In the long-term, mobile health threatens to transform healthcare into a primarily “providerless” service, in the same fashion mobile taxi app company Uber envisions “driverless” taxis. Therefore, I conclude that while mobile health holds out tantalizing potential to improve upon the cost and accessibility of healthcare, there will be significant resistance to licensing and scope of practice reforms until broader political economy questions concerning the long-term viability of the medical profession are answered

    Social Disadvantages of Ease of Transactions Using Blockchain

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    A distributed, immutable record like that provided by blockchain technology has the ability to greatly streamline and fortify financial transactions while also reducing associated risks. Blockchain transactions are simple, but this convenience comes at a social cost. The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few would be a potential drawback, as would be the possibility of a blockchain's centralization. The anonymity of blockchain transactions also makes them conducive to unlawful operations like money laundering and the selling of illicit items. Finally, the energy consumption essential to a blockchain network's operation raises environmental problems

    Focus EMU, May 30, 1990

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    4Ms Framework for Aging Healthcare

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    Background: At the beginning of the pandemic, primary care clinics in North Dakota (ND) had just a trickle of daily telehealth encounters. Over time, these encounters increased, primarily for the youngest seniors (55 – 70 years old). Due to increased COVID-19 cases among the elderly population in ND, the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) allocated a grant to the University of North Dakota (UND) to promote telehealth use in the elderly residing in rural ND and receiving home care through the desired home care agency. This project aims to promote telehealth to reduce exposure to COVID-19 among the geriatric populations in rural ND. The project was implemented as Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students used video monitoring technologies to complete a geriatric modified assessment with focus on the 4Ms. The 4Ms consists of medication, mobility, mentation, and what matters most (4Ms). Methods: Mixed-method of qualitative and quantitative study approach was utilized. Participants were given a pre-survey focusing on previous telehealth experience. The modified geriatric assessment was conducted, followed by a post-survey questionnaire asking about their experience. Results: Pre/post-survey answers were compared and analyzed by a statistician Conclusions: The findings suggest that the utilization of telehealth in conducting modified wellness assessments is beneficial and more convenient in reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure compared to going to the provider’s office

    People Can Be So Fake: A New Dimension to Privacy and Technology Scholarship

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    This article updates the traditional discussion of privacy and technology, focused since the days of Warren and Brandeis on the capacity of technology to manipulate information. It proposes a novel dimension to the impact of anthropomorphic or social design on privacy. Technologies designed to imitate people-through voice, animation, and natural language-are increasingly commonplace, showing up in our cars, computers, phones, and homes. A rich literature in communications and psychology suggests that we are hardwired to react to such technology as though a person were actually present. Social interfaces accordingly capture our attention, improve interactivity, and can free up our hands for other tasks. At the same time, technologies that imitate people have the potential to implicate long-standing privacy values. One of the well-documented effects on users of interfaces and devices that emulate people is the sensation of being observed and evaluated. Their presence can alter our attitude, behavior, and physiological state. Widespread adoption of such technology may accordingly lessen opportunities for solitude and chill curiosity and self-development. These effects are all the more dangerous in that they cannot be addressed through traditional privacy protections such as encryption or anonymization. At the same time, the unique properties of social technology also present an opportunity to improve privacy, particularly online

    The adoption and impact of computer integrated prepress systems in the printing and publishing industries of Kuwait

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    This research is aimed at developing a comprehensive picture of the implications of digital technology in the graphic arts industries in Kuwait. The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) to explore the meaning of the outcomes of recent technological change processes for the traditional prepress occupations in Kuwait; and, (2) to examine the impact of technology on Arabic layout and design. The study is based on the assumption that technological change is a chain of interactions among the sociological, cultural, political and economic variables. The prepress area in Kuwait has its own cultural, social, economic, and political structure. When a new technology is introduced it is absorbed and shaped by the existing structure. Based on such a dialectical conceptualisation, four major levels of analysis can be distinguished in this study: (1) technological change in the graphic arts industries; (2) the typographic evolution of the Arabic script; (3) the workers themselves as individuals and occupational collectives; and, (4) technology's impact on Arabic publication design. The methodological approach selected for this study can be defined as a dialectical, interpretive exploration. Given the historical perspective and the multiple levels of analysis, this approach calls for a variety of data gathering methods. Both qualitative and quantitative data were sought. A combination of document analysis, participant observation and interviewing allow to link the historical and current events with individual and collective actions, perceptions and interpretations of reality. The findings presented in this study contradicts the belief that the widespread adoption of new production processes is coincidental with continuous advances in scientific knowledge which provide the basis for the development of new technologies. Instead, the changes have been hindered by the lack of untrained personnel, the Arabic software incompatibility, and the lack of informed decisions to successfully implement the technology. Without any doubt, the new technology has influenced Arabic calligraphy, but this does not mean the decay of Arabic calligraphy as an art. As this study shows, the challenge is not to the art, but to the artist

    Informal Evaluation and Institutionalization of Neoteric Technology Ideas: The Case of Two Danish Organizations

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    In this paper, we explore the complex process of how ideas evolve in organizations that are engaged in developing and using information technology (IT)-based systems. We put forward a framework emphasizing the interconnection between creativity and institutionalization. We argue that ideas are embedded in existing institutionalized technologies in organizations and that emerging technologies introduce neoteric ideas to them. Furthermore, we argue that, when attempting to introduce technology-based ideas, human actors will focus their attention on ideas embedded in existing institutionalized technologies while informally evaluating and making sense of these ideas. Moreover, we suggest that conflicts between competing frames of reference during this evaluation may result in the rejection, adoption, or multiplication of new technology ideas. Drawing on information systems (IS)-based theories of creativity, Scandinavian institutionalism, and empirical data from two Danish organizations, we investigate the interplay between creativity, technology, and human sensemaking in the process of translating and transforming technology ideas into full-fledged technological innovations
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