Health Technology Regulation and Assessment Quiz

Health Technology Regulation, Assessment, and Management

• Interconnected functions for effective and safe medical device use
• Health Technology Regulation ensures medical devices and drugs meet safety, quality, and efficacy standards, particularly for complex technologies.
• Health Technology Assessment (HTA) evaluates clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and societal impact of medical technologies to guide healthcare decisions.
• Health Technology Management (HTM) plans, procures, maintains, and ensures proper use of medical devices for operational efficiency and safety.
• These functions are complementary: Regulation ensures compliance, HTA supports informed decisions, and HTM ensures optimal implementation.
• Specialized regulatory processes (STD) are reserved for highly complex medical technologies.
• Decision-making in health systems is largely driven by management, often at the hospital or regional level to align with administrative structures and needs.

Innovation Key Dimensions

• Type: Refers to the new product, process, input, organizational structure, or social aspect.
• Subjectivity: Identifies the intended recipient of the innovation; individual, group, organization, industry, or society.
• Degree: Evaluates how new the innovation is in terms of market impact, technological advancement, organizational changes, or environmental adaptation.

Parenteral Injection

• Administration of medications or substances directly into the body, bypassing the digestive system.
• Used when oral or rectal administration is not feasible or for a rapid therapeutic effect.
• Key points include bioavailability, sterility/safety.
• Rationals for parenteral administrations: drugs that are not absorbed, decompose in the gastrointestinal tract, requiring prompt action, or when patients are unresponsive, or unable to ingest medication.

Disadvantages of Parenteral Ingestion

• Infection risk
• Toxic and allergic responses
• Tissue injury, hemorrhage, tissue necrosis, sterile abscesses
• Pain
• Cost

Intradermal Injection

• Medication injected into the dermis.
• Slowest absorption rate among parenteral methods.
• Used primarily for diagnostic purposes (e.g., tuberculin skin test, allergen/drug sensitivity test).
• Also used for local anesthesia or BCG vaccination due to minimal absorption into the bloodstream.
• Localized effects.
• Disadvantages: Requires precision, difficult to administer correctly, and small volume capacity (0.1-0.2 mL).

Subcutaneous Injection

• Injected into the fatty tissue beneath the skin.
• Slower than intramuscular but faster than intradermal and oral routes.
• Used for slower, sustained absorption, certain vaccines (e.g., insulin, heparin, epinephrine), and growth hormone.

Intramuscular Injection

• Injected into a muscle
• Faster absorption than subcutaneous
• Can accommodate oil-based or depot formulations for prolonged effects.
• Disadvantages: Pain or soreness at the injection site, risk of tissue damage or abscess formation.

Intravenous Injection

• Injected directly into a vein.
• Used for rapid delivery of drugs into the bloodstream.
• Advantages: 100% bioavailability, suitable for large volumes, and allows precise control of drug levels in the body.
• Disadvantages: Requires trained personnel, aseptic technique, risk of infection, phlebitis, or air embolism.

Barcode Technology

• Machine-readable codes representing data using lines, spaces, or patterns.
• Used in healthcare for efficiency, accuracy, and patient safety by converting information into a digital format.
• Functions include patient identification, tracking and inventory management, error prevention, data collection and documentation, workflow improvement, and safety improvement.

Health Technology in Clinics and Applications

• Decision Support Systems (DSS) are essential tools for healthcare professionals in complex scenarios.
• DSS methodologies include decision trees, artificial neural networks, statistical methods, and rule-based methods.
• DSS aids complex problem-solving, but does not replace human decision-makers.
• Impact of the internet on DSS involves improvements in data access, reporting tools, and real-time decision-making capabilities.
• Technological drivers, such as AI, software engineering, and telecommunications, continuously enhance DSS development.

Knowledge-Based Decision Support Systems (KKDS)

• Various types of KKDS in healthcare and nursing management; Clinical disease warning system, clinical disease management system, diagnostic for cause KKDS, Drug-drug interaction system, emergency focus KKDS, Medical error prevention system, nurse assistant system, pharmacy support system, and prescription writing support system.

Telemedicine and Tele-Nursing

• Use of ICT to deliver remote healthcare services.
• Specialized fields include telepathology, teledermatology, and teleradiology.
• Types: Synchronous (real-time) and Asynchronous (record and transmit).
• Benefits include reduction in unnecessary hospitalizations, lower medical costs, improved access to care, and chronic disease management.

Tele-Nursing Applications

• Tele-nursing plays a crucial role in various aspects of healthcare delivery and management.
• Focus areas include High-Risk Group Consultations and Chronic Disease Management.

Nursing Care Technologies for Wound Care

• Alginate dressings: Absorb exudates, provide pain relief, hemostatic effects, suitable for heavily exuding wounds.
• Polyurethane transparency films: Transparent, semi-permeable, allows gas exchange, useful for observation, and secondary dressings.
• Hydrogel dressings: Hydrophilic polymers, moist environment, ideal for dry or necrotic wounds.
• Hydrocolloid dressings: Pain reduction, promote epithelialization (skin cell growth), and collagen production, direct adhesion to wounds, and high absorbency.

Respiratory System

• Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV): Uses subatmospheric pressure around the thorax and abdomen.
• Positive Pressure Ventilation (Types): Pressure-targeted and Volume-targeted.
• Devices: CPAP (constant pressure) and BiPAP (alternating pressure).

Digital Chest Drainage System

• Comprehensive monitoring of thoracic patients, offering advanced functionality to measure and manage air, and fluid leakage.

Tracheostomy Care Overlay System (TOS)

• System integrates real-time monitoring, error detection, and feedback mechanisms for tracheostomy care.
• Improves communication, supporting clinical practice adherence and ensuring appropriate care.

Tracheal Alarms

• High-Pressure Alarm: Triggered by airway resistance increase (e.g., obstruction).
• Low-Pressure Alarm: Indicates a leak or disconnection in the ventilation system.
• Displacement Alarm: Alerts to tube displacement from the trachea.
• Obstruction Alarm: Warns of airway blockages.
• Benefits include early detection and improved patient safety through continuous monitoring.

Test your knowledge on the principles of Health Technology Regulation and Assessment. This quiz covers topics such as the evaluation of clinical effectiveness, the role of WHO, parenteral injection applications, and the impact of big data in healthcare. Dive deep into the regulations and management processes that shape our health technologies.