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Biomedical subjects

H D Banta

Publications and source records attributed to H D Banta.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

The diffusion of the computed tomography (CT) scanner in the United States.

The rising cost of medical care in the United States is a problem generally familiar to all interested in health care policy. In recent years the contribution of technology to this rising cost has been debated. The computed tomography (CT) scanner has come to exemplify the problem of "technology run wild." The scanner was introduced into the United States in 1973 and has diffused rapidly into virtually every area of the country. However, despite the large number of scanners, they are mal-distributed by institutional setting and geographic location. A number of Federal policies have been developed to deal with medical technology. The case of the CT scanner illustrates the failure of these policies. The CT scanner was not well evaluated before it diffused into practice, and it appears that Federal reimbursement policy facilitated its spread. Federal policies designed to slow diffusion or to assure optimal placement or wise use of scanners have not had demonstrable effects. The case of the CT scanner suggests the need to alter Federal policies toward medical technologies.

Government↗
PubMed1979

Policies toward medical technology: the case of electronic fetal monitoring.

Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) is an example of a medical technology that has been widely accepted since its introduction in the mid-1960s. However, review of the literature does not provide convincing evidence of EFM efficacy, and four recent, controlled, clinical trails show little if any benefit in terms of preventing death or long-term disability of the baby. Public and private policies have largely acted to encourage use of EFM, and none have acted to slow or prevent its spread. This need for mechanisms to assure the timely evaluation of new medical technologies before they are accepted as a medical practice has led to a new medical devices program in the Food and Drug Administration, consensus development groups at the National Institutes of Health, and congressional legislation to establish a new National Center for Health Care Technology.

Equipment and Supplies↗
PubMed1979

Fetal monitoring.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Apgar Score↗
PubMed1978

Assessing the social impacts of medical technologies.

The introduction of a new medical technology can have indirect, unintended, or unanticipated effects on individuals or on social systems. Although these impacts result from the widespread use of the technology, many of them can be predicted while the technology is being developed. A method for systematically identifying and evaluating these impacts is technology assessment. Such an assessment, made while a technology is being developed, could provide useful information for decision making about research and development and in planning for the technology's eventual introduction. Because only a few medical technologies have been formally assessed and because the process of medical technology development is porrly understood, one must be cautious in recommending widespread use of technology assessment. Nevertheless, enough is now known to permit the formulation of approaches that could be used in preliminary attempts at medical technology assessment.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1976

Health services research and health policy.

Health services research (HSR) has the potential to influence the decision-making process in a health services system that is acutelearchers feel, with some truth, that their research has had only a limited effect on health policy. Some reasons for this are described, including the primacy of political, rather than technical, considerations in policy making, the lack of a comprehensive health policy, and the poor quality and irrelevance of much HSR. The role of funding for HSR by the Federal government is described; it is shown that the Federal effort is fragmented, despite the consolidation efforts made in 1968. Increased support for specific targeted, problem-solving health services research is proposed, and some possible methods to achieve this are described.

Financing, Government↗
PubMed1976

National service in rural areas: the case of Colombia.

Sending new medical school graduates into rural areas does give underserved populations access to modern medical care, perhaps for the first time. However, these young physicians usually spend most of their time providing strictly clinical services and are generally eager to leave at the end of their assignment. Some have referred to this practice as "parachuting" a doctor into an underserved area. An alternative is to focus first on building up permanent health service facilities in rural areas that are staffed by appropriate paraprofessionals. The young physician can then play a much more important role, serving as an administrator, researcher, evaluator, and teacher of the local staff; his clinical activities would generally be confined to the more complicated medical problems that arise. Such a model has been implemented in Kenya and Tanzania. An informal field assessment in Colombia has indicated that this model could be effectively applied there as well; indeed, it has been the hope of Colombian policymakers that the rural intern would function in such a way. However, this would require developing the nation's system of health services, as well as providing specific training aimed at preparing the medical student to perform his assigned role.

Colombia↗