The world of healthcare technology faced some interesting dilemmas this week. The first was a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers that the healthcare industry has a shortage of qualified IT workers.
The healthcare IT worker shortage means that pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, solutions providers and healthcare facilities are all competing for a very small pool of workers. Alternatively, these organizations are pulling their workers from a variety of other industries. The top skills for healthcare IT, according to executives, are systems and data integration. Workers who can function in a variety of environments will be highly desirable within the labor market.
A second dilemma discussed last week included the ethics surrounding pediatric anthrax vaccination trials. The question was prompted by a 2011 bioterrorism preparedness exercise that examined what might happen if a large amount of anthrax was released in a city like San Francisco.
The results were heartbreaking: An anthrax attack could mean 8 million casualties, and nearly one-quarter of those would be children. The plan to minimize sickness and death would be to distribute antibiotics like Cipro as quickly as possible and to follow up with widespread vaccination. Unfortunately, researchers don’t know how the vaccines would affect children, and conducting trials by exposing children to anthrax before a major event presents many ethical conundrums.
Another question from the Health Techzone this week: Should employers be allowed to penalize employees who refuse to share statistics such as their weight? CVS Caremark has begun to charge employees who utilize the company’s health insurance $600 per year if they refuse to participate in a pre-screening examination. The exam would obtain the patient’s weight, blood pressure and other medical data.
CVS employees aren’t being punished for their weight. Instead, they’re being punished for advocating for their privacy. How much information do employers have the right to collect, and what kind of information should an employee have to divulge?
Rapid technology changes and medical advancements can only mean more dilemmas for healthcare in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to HealthTechZone’s Health Techzone for the latest news.
