One of the fields technology is having big impacts on is health care. All sorts of new technologies are coming up which have potential applications in the practice of medicine. Among the many effects the introduction of new health-care-related technologies can have are impacts on what kinds of legal issues come up for doctors in relation to their work. When legal issues come up for a doctor in connection to such new technologies or their use of them, such as contract issues or issues that could impact their license status, they may want to promptly speak to an attorney knowledgeable in health law.
One new technology that has been popping up in many fields lately are drones. Might this technology someday be regularly used in the realm of health care?
Possible health care applications of drones are being looked into. One that is being investigated is the possibility of using drones for delivering test samples for lab tests. The hope is that such a delivery system, if viable, could help speed up lab tests. Faster testing could have impacts on many things, including the speed in which accurate diagnoses could be reached.
Research has been done looking into whether drones could carry blood samples in a way that keeps them unharmed and fully intact. The initial research suggests that they can.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the use of drones in test sample delivery.
What do you think of the idea of drones being used in health care? If health-care-related uses of drones do someday become common, what impacts do you think it will have on patients and physicians?
Source: NPR, “Doctors Test Drones To Speed Up Delivery Of Lab Tests,” Esther Lanhuis, Sept. 13, 2016
