Healthcare Industry
Dana Qablawi
History
The healthcare industry is made up of the companies who manufacture medical products or provide services
Hospitals make up around 2% but they make up 59% of the revenues earned
Healthcare systems are different in every country
The us healthcare system is ranked largest in the world and it is now worth $1.7 trillion but healthcare providers are starting to suffer because of rising costs and overpopulation
Started off as a way for people to learn the medical properties of plants through trial and error and the information that they gathered would be passed on to others who would continue to work on the findings.
When medicines are imported to different countries there are a lot of factors that come into play to determine how much of the medicine will be available, the accessibility of the medicine, and the price of it
Taxes, tariffs, import quotas, etc.
Patent protections are being placed and this can lead to higher prices which will make it harder for people living in third world countries to get treatments
Technological Changes
In the 19th century, during the industrial revolution, there were a lot of new technological discoveries in the world of medicine, these advances led to new and improved ways to diagnose and treat patients
New information technologies in the health industry helps to open doors for more research which will help to make the industry much more effective
IT usage has also helped to make patient care much safer and more reliable
New developments in software programs helps to classify illnesses, causes, and symptoms onto online databases
Some new developments include:
Microchip Modeling Clinical Trials
Aims to replace the use of animals in clinical trials and be able to accurately test the safety and efficiency of the treatment
These chips will be able to reconstruct the interface between organs and capillaries
3D Printers
With the help of 3D printing tissue could be created and it would help test drugs and help in the growth of new organs.
Already been advances in developing skin to help patients and 3D printers can help to fast track by using laser printed skin cells
Blood vessels and sheets of cardiac tissue have already been printed and beat just like a real heart
Industrial Revolution
Microchip Modeling Clinical Trials
3D Printer
New Processes
Marketing
Internet marketing has become essential to the healthcare industry since connecting with patients is one of the most important things to have a successful practice.
A new way to help manage an online market along with patient communication is having a healthcare marketing automation solution like SimplyCast 360 which will help to:
Gather and Organize New Patient Data
Send Out Personalized Patient Care Campaigns
Gather Valuable Patient Feedback
- Gaining New Patients On Social Media
Distribution
Wholesale distribution is based on the one channel principle
Pharmacies or hospitals can only purchase the products from one wholesaler
Pharmacies are responsible for retail distribution
Hospital pharmacies or medicine dispensaries run by municipalities organize the medical services for the public sector
Vaccines that are listed in the national vaccination programme are free of charge from the healthcare systems while any other vaccine is bought by the patients from pharmacies
Availability of Medicines
National medicine policies ensure the availability of medicines and in order to do this there is a pharmaceutical emergency supply and obligatory storing systems
It's used to know which substances are covered by the system, and how large the volume can be
- The system applies to pharmaceutical companies, importers of products, and healthcare units
New Attitudes and Trends
Environmental Awareness
A survey done in 2005 in Canada showed that about 24% of households had leftover or expired medications in their cabinets
National average is 40% of households disposed of medicines in the garbage, flushing them down the toilet, or burying them in the soil.
Exposure to drugs that aren't medically necessary can have long term effects on plants, animals, and humans
Risks
Drugs are not natural, even if the medication had come from an organic substance after it is transformed into a drug it is no longer organic
Most drugs cannot quickly decompose so it remains in our ecosystem and may even affect it
It could have a direct or indirect impact on both animal and human health
If antibiotics were to enter our ecosystem it may cause bacteria and funguses to grow more resistant, increasing rates of infections
- To try and minimize exposure hospitals and medical centres control all handling of the medications during treatment and dispose of any excess but now some patients are required to take the medications home
Health Concerns
People who suffer from medical issues are given medications to help but sometimes those patients start to suffer from addiction
Once addicted the drug abuse may cause damaging long term effects to the body
Some may cause cancer while others such as inhalants may damage or destroy nerve cell
Patients who suffer from mental illnesses may also become addicted
Consequences of addiction
Negative effects of prenatal drug exposure on infants/children
Negative effects of secondhand smoking
- Increased spread of infectious diseases
Social Awareness
Awareness in the health industry is crucial since they deal with patients on a daily basis
They have to make sure that they don't offend the patient
Healthcare workers need to be able to respect a person's cultural beliefs and bring in the culture of medicine
They need to be socially aware of a person's ethnicity, nationality, age, religion, gender, and any disabilities they may have
For example if a handicapped person comes into a doctor's office it must be easily accessible for them
There are a lot of minorities that receive no medical care or if they do receive the care they are treated very rudely
The lack of cultural competence of healthcare workers is one of the contributing factors as to why these minorities do not receive the healthcare they deserve
Along with being socially aware of their patients, health care providers are working towards making the world as a whole more aware of mental and physical illness.