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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 22, 2003 Helping hospitals make good choices Physician visits Medford to discuss expensive new technologies on the market By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Costly new medical technologies will provide powerful incentives for small, rural hospitals to cooperate, a visiting health researcher said Friday. "The expenses (of new technologies) will be far greater than anything we’ve ever dealt with," Dr. Molly Coye said during a break between presentations at Providence Medford Medical Center. The San Francisco-based physician came to Medford to talk about the "bulging pipeline of new technologies" that will fundamentally change the way physicians and hospitals treat patients. "We’re going to have to scramble faster to handle what’s coming at us," she said. Coye said hospitals will have to choose which technologies they will invest in, while manufacturers use advertising to create consumer demand for everything from new medical equipment to biotechnology products. Advertisement "There are no right answers," Coye said, noting that new technologies such as stem cell transplants and liver dialysis will enter the market over the next few years. "The decisions will vary by community. The important thing is to make informed decisions." Helping hospitals make informed decisions is Coye’s business. She is founder and chief executive of the Health Technology Center, or HealthTech, a nonprofit research service that evaluates medical innovations and helps hospitals decide which ones to invest in. "We’re like an early-warning system," Coye said. About 30 hospitals and health care systems are members of HealthTech, including Providence Health System. Coye said new technologies will make many treatments and diagnostic procedures less invasive. She noted, for example, that some heart conditions can now be treated by placing a flexible metal stent in an artery and guiding it to the afflicted area instead of opening the chest for surgery. Cancer care will change dramatically, too. New treatments will hold some cancers at bay rather than obliterate them, transforming cancer into a chronic disease instead of a fatal one. Innovations in information technology will give patients access to their medical records and allow them to communicate with physicians by e-mail. Doctors may be apprehensive of the change at first, Coye said, but they will learn to use e-mail to treat patients with minor ills, leaving more time for their sickest patients. New technologies are not without problems, she said. Full-body scans, for example, are marketed as a way to identify hidden health problems, but they produce a number of false positives. Insurers, physicians and patients sometimes spend considerable sums before determining the test results are false. On the Web: www.healthtech.orgReach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities