Impacts of Medical Technology - Free Essay Example

The advancements in medical technology has completely impacted the healthcare industry. The structure and organization of the entire medical field has been changed. Medicine is continually moving forward due to technology. The rise of technology has helped with diagnoses, access to care, treatment plans, and much more. Diseases are being cured, and earlier diagnoses’ have created a healthier and more productive lifespan. Nowadays, we have the capability to keep a life going for an extensive amount of time. Most people would agree that living longer would be wonderful, but for patients’ suffering, that may not be ideal. Prolonged life has become a topic of ethical debate, and there are many things to be considered when discussing it. There are many difficulties when looking at the quantity vs. the quality of a life. Most patients, when asked, would choose quality over length. Someone who is seriously ill, without the ability to take care of themselves, is no longer able to enjoy their quality of life. One of the most widely used medical advancements is the mechanical ventilator, or breathing machine. A ventilator helps the patient breath while allowing the body to rest and heal. The ventilator is capable of totally breathing for the patient. While this can be great in cases for younger bodies who are capable of springing back to life after their illness passes, an elderly patient is much less likely to recover from conditions causing respiratory failure (Zitter 2017). These patients will live the rest of their life connected to a life-prolonging machine that will, most likely, prevent them from ever moving from a hospital bed again. Realistically, an elderly patient placed on a ventilator will unlikely ever to be freed from it. In an article by Jessica Zitter she stated that, â€Å"my experience tells me that if patients actually understand what living on these technologies looks like, they will think twice before accepting these treatments† (Zitter 2017). Furthermore, in a 2008 study in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 28 percent of patients with advanced heart failure said they would trade one day of excellent health for another two years in their current state. To make the decision to be put on Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation, or PMV, one must be informed about the condition of permanent dependence. Often older patients that benefit from these life-extending technologies are not properly informed of the pros, cons, and alternatives (Butler). If a patient knew their life would be drawn out, they would choose to receive less technological intervention. At times, patients are too ill to discuss or determine their decision and the choice must be determined by the patients loved ones. Most of the time, those loved ones have no clue what the patient might want and out of emotion favor toward a longer life, even if that means being put in an anguish state. Even if the patient is well enough to make that decision, without being well-informed, they might choose to go with the more aggressive treatment unaware of the possible outcomes. Some may argue that doctors purposely provide a lack of information in order to receive the financial incentives associated with performing the aggressive treatments. It’s quite alarming how seldom doctors talk with their patients about the range of options and the hardship of these famed technologies. A big debate within the medical community is the free-for-service medical care. This is where providers charge fees for specific services. If a provider performs more aggressive treatments and continues to run unnecessary tests, he is going to rack up more money for his bank, which is morally unethical. In a Medicare study, it proved that more than $125 billion, is spent on services for the 5% of beneficiaries in their last year of life. As well, a study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that out of pocket expenses for Medicare recipients during the five years before their death average about $39,000 for individuals, $51,000 for couples, and $66,000 for people with long-term illnesses like Alzheimer’s (Wang 2012). A new plan of action needs to be put in place in the medical market systems that lowers the profit margins, so physicians would give their patients the best options available. Making a turn in these incentives, could help to solve the problem of the lack of information provided to patients and their loved ones. One of the most common overlooked ethical issues with prolonged life treatments, besides the patients themselves, is the life of the caregiver. A caregiver is not always someone that is hired to watch over a person. Generally, caregivers are some part of the family, whether that’s the spouse, child, sister etc. Patients in need of a caregiver are, in most cases, requiring round the clock care. This is time consuming and a caregiver is sacrificing that time out of his or her life. This brings us back to quality vs. quantity of life. In a study of caregivers who deal with patients who have Parkinson’s disease, 77% of people report deterioration in health as a direct result of their caregiving role (Parkinson’s Disease Vol. 12 2012). Many complain of stress, anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep. It creates physical and psychological strain over extended periods of time, and is accompanied by high levels of unpredictability and uncontrollability. This not o nly creates stress with the loved one they are watching over, but in multiple life domains such as work and family relationships. Lives are essentially lost when they are tied up in the arduous work of taking care of their loved one, all while watching them suffer. In Katy Butler’s article, she discussed the effects caring for her father had on her mother, â€Å"†¦my 77-year-old mother found herself on duty more than 80 hours a week. Her blood pressure rose and her weight fell. On a routine visit to [the doctor], she burst into tears. She was put on sleeping pills and antidepressants† (Butler). There are caregivers and at home nurses that work for service, while other patients are put in nursing homes to live the rest of their lives. Though this is easier on the family members, the quality of life for that loved one still suffers. The ethical value here is that the family members who play the role of the caregiver, are trading their life and health for the extra time with their loved one. Those caregivers are still in the good years of their lives, and those years are lost in caring for their loved one that has the life-extending technology. This begins a cycle of care from one generation to the next. It would only make sense for us to stop that cycle and focus these medical advancements on younger people, who still have a long life to live. In an article by Thomas Lee he asks, â€Å"If you had x amount of dollars, would you spend it on an 80-year-old who has already lived a long life, or a 12-year-old boy dying of cancer?† (Lee 2010). Younger people would be a better investment because they have so much longer that they will be alive to benefit from the technology. We should end this life trade-off cycle, and focus our efforts on the young people that need medical help. A great deal of patients would prefer to have the ventilator, a life-extending technology, removed from healthcare. However, by doing this, it creates another controversy. Should the caregivers of the patient have a say if the ventilator should be turned off? This question is the biggest issue because if the patient is unresponsive, how is the caregiver going to make this decision. Also, if the caregiver is a loved one of the patient, this decision could be a conflict of interest. Some relatives might turn it off because they do not want to see their family member suffer. On the other hand, the majority will act out of selfishness and want to keep the patient alive on the device since they want them to still be here with them on this earth. Some relatives might act out of greediness which is another problem. They might want to â€Å"pull the plug† in order to collect belongings from the family member like life insurance or other collectables that are in the will. Ther e is no way of really knowing of why the caregiver is turning the ventilator off. Herein lies the supposed ethical difficulty. This reality requires that doctors and families make the difficult decision about when to pull the plug, because once a patient is on a ventilator, they have no control over their situation. Controversy of assisted suicide has been around since the beginning of high-technology and PMV’s. When the caregiver wants to turn the machine off, a lot of them turn to the doctors which can be seen similar to an act of assisted suicide. Doctor’s do not like this because it creates legal issues so, they try to remove themselves from this situation. The State of Oregon stopped using the term â€Å"physician-assisted suicide† in 2006. Similarly the American Medical Women’s Association rejects any terms associated with suicide as â€Å"inaccurate and inappropriate,† adopting instead â€Å"the less emotionally charged, value neutral, and accurate terms ‘aid in dying’ or ‘physician-assisted dying† (DeathwithDignity 2018). For some, these life-extending devices are not the only means of staying alive. The devices it helps to prevent strokes, breathing issues, and heart attacks. The moral issues in removing or turning off these prolonged-life devices, should not factor into a physician’s decision because there is no intent to kill, but to simply end their suffering. Death comes from the lack of strength for one to sustain life on his or her own. The ethical issues in these prolonging technologies is abundant. Doctors must inform patients, caregivers, and family members of all options as well as the hardships they may endure from these devises. This will allow patients and caregivers to make an educated decision, rather than live the rest of their lives suffering. Additionally, it will allow the opportunity for a younger individual in the need of these technologies, to take advantage of the many benefits it could potentially have on their life.

Evaluation of Apple’s Organization Strategy - 275 Words

Evaluation of Apple's Organization Strategy (Essay Sample) Content: Evaluation of Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s Organization StrategyNameInstitutionApples Critical Evaluation of Its StrategyApple is an American company that is famous all over the world. The company produces computer software, personal computers, mobile phones as well as consumer electronics goods. The most demanded products consist of iPod, the iPhone, the Macintosh of computers as well as the iPad. Apple has more than 300 retail stores distributed over ten countries all over the globe. The software of this company includes the Mac OS X operating system, final cut studio, iWork suite of productivity software, logic studio a music production toolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s suit, the iTunes media browser, AirPrint among others. Apple Company was co-founded back in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs and his counterpart Steve Wozniak in Cupertino, California (O'GRADY, 2009, pg.36).Apple is the leading digital asset management organization and worldwide smartphone provider. The company is the only one to g enerate and run both hardware and software. The company permits customers to share applications, movies as well as music through Apple devices like Mac, iPod and iPhone by an exclusive selling media platform called iTunes. In 2012, apples chief executive officer, Tim Cook, was excited due to the fact that the company had made overwhelming sales of iPhones to the tune of thirty-five million and at the same time a sale of just about 12 million ipads in March quarter. He also said that the innovative iPad is off to an immense starting with fresh innovation that can only be found in Apple (LUÃÅ'STED, 2012, pg.62). Furthermore, the sales of iPad, iPhone and Mac have swelled up by 188% and 7% respectively. At the same time, an iPod sale was down by 15%.Using PEST analysis would be a good way to understand how Apple conducts its business and know the situation of future market. There are many problems that are uncontrollable as far as the company is concerned. These problems consist of ge opolitical reservations, authority to work, war against the threat of terrorism, as well as health issues that can sway the sale of the apple product globally. So as to moderate operation costs, Apple has outsourced from different nations, for example, China, Czech Republic, and cork. Unfortunately, if these countries experience challenges like political instability, it can result in the delay in manufacturing operations which affects the overall business negatively (LINZMAYER LINZMAYER, 2004, pg.27).A great extent dictates the peoples purchasing capability by the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s economic conditions. Lately, the economy has continued to go down leading to a lot of unemployment in many nations all over the world. Consequently, this has led to a decrease in the sale of Apple products. In addition, an increase in oil prices, that fuels inflation in the global economy, has reduced individuals purchasing capacity thereby affecting the sales of Apple products due to its high price. Alt hough in the recent past, the global economic conditions are stabilizing, and Apple has purchased foreign currencies, therefore, resulting in an increase in its revenue in the international market.Throughout history, two dynamics has always been at the forefront of apple product. These aspects consist of the design and quality (CRUIKSHANK, 2006, pg.54). The capability of people to buy luxury products have skyrocketed in the recent past, attributing to the inevitability that their power, to buy, has expanded in various parts of the planet. Individuals nowadays tend to iPhones, iPods, and fresh technology iPad. The music industry is fast growing, and that fact that Apple has iTunes that are the most famous music store; in addition to having the biggest social influence is a plus to the company. As a result of this, Apple has gained a lot of money from social features primarily because it is defining peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s modern lifestyles.The apple company has always taken advantage of i ts innovative as well as its technologies products. Large chunks of money are pumped into research activities and development field. This is largely the reason Apple comes on top the fresh groundbreaking products that are of high quality and meets the needs of the consumers of all ages (CAMERON, 2010,pg.92).It's common knowledge that Apple is a giant industry running so many products. That notwithstanding, apple has many competitors and the major ones mainly in the mobile phone industry and other products include, Google, Samsung, HTC as well as nokia.Competition in any given industry is defined by the Michael porterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s five competitive forces. This model assists to examine the impact on Apple and its capability to compete in the world market. The first effect of five forces of Michael porterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s model is intensity on competitiveness in the business. The apple organization has performed exemplary by offering technical support, producing products, as well as formin g customer loyalty. The company sustains its productivity without marking down a product by making superior products ranging from excellent tablets, Android smartphones and eReaders attaining market share at inferior prices.The bargaining influence of suppliers can take the profits of the company down by quoting high prices for supplies. Hence, the company is looking for new supplies since Apple is still growing. The organization permits the new suppliers to lower the bargaining powers of dealers by registering online on the appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s website. If this is done effectively Apple Company, can reduce the bargaining power through extensive competition among a large number of suppliers hence increasing the overall profits.The apple company should meet the anticipations of their clienteles in order to accomplish the majority shares of the market by different sections that come from educational level, age as well as income. An important thing, to note, is that consumers are price se nsitive and the moment their product is not differentiated they can instantly switch to another retailer. Google affords competition in both smartphone and tablet market. Apple Company holds 75% of earnings in the business and the chances of the appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s customers moving to another brand are very slim if any because of its high brand loyalty. Nonetheless, competition is very high presently, and other competing companies are trying everything within their reach to attract new customers.Entering more organizations in the market only means decreasing the market share of Apple. Organizations can preserve the market share and create profit through differentiation of brand and product as well as making robust marketing approach, for example, competitive advantage. As a fresh business, it is very difficult to contend with a company like Apple simply because it has an established strong brand image, invention, professed value as well as excellent customer services (APPLE, 2012, pg. 13).If the desires of the consumers are the same, then the product can be substituted. Hence, the threat of substitute might have two factors consisting of price and performance. This offers the buyer an opportunity to switch the merchandise as well as readiness of the customers to change. The threat of substitute can be decreased as long as the consumers are loyal to the product offered. Individuals buy iPhones for standards, applications and other apple company products because of their upgradeability and stability which offers buyers the capability to transfer knowledge and applications among others (COX, 2012, pg.5).The industry, within which Apple Company operates, is fast changing as major players are constantly introducing fresh products that incorporate new technology and designs. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s important to note that the tablet and smartphone industry has customers who are sensitive to prices and experienced a significant level of impersonations in design, as well as the f unction ability of the tablets and the smartphones. This can be long-established by the standard counter allegation against Apple and Samsung. The major players in the industry are based all over the world; therefore it proves very difficult to monitor their every move.The primary objective of apple is to dominate the different industries that it serves while at the same time making considerable earnings for the shareholders, as well as funding to the upward mobility of the society in general. Some of the strategic plans that Apple uses to guarantee that it settles at the top of the food chain include; it has increased the number of retail outlets especially in the countries that are developing thereby tapping the emerging market. Apple sells its products in discount rates largely in areas where people buy on a wholesale basis.In order for the apple company to continue enjoying the excellent performance, it has to put more stress on the development modern products that are in line w ith technological development. The company ought to continue developing high-end devices as well as increase its presence in other foreign markets. Furthermore, the organization should make use of the sturdy brand image that it has created and unveil a new product ranges to the already prevailing product range.Grounded on the industry analysis, Apple should create a differential strategy. The product personal computer market offers continuous pressure on prices, which grind down the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s profitability. Developing a trademark image that splits the organization from the competitive rat race, so to speak, will decrease the consequence of destructive competition as well as pad margins (HOOLEY, PIERCY NICOULAUD, 2012, pg.64).Because there are fewer suppliers of major components desired in personal computer manufacturing, establishing close re...