Medical health has indeed changed significantly over the past decades. And now we are approaching a period in human history when machines and man truly meet face to face. But unlike the doomsday predictions of movies like The Matrix, we are not enslaved by metal-wielding machines of superior artificial intelligence.

In fact, we are surviving more and more because of the machines that man creates for his own survival. Healthcare and the Internet Joseph Calderaro, 67 years old is in fine health today, thanks to a team of medical specialists taking care of him. In the span of four years he has effectively lowered his blood sugar through constant monitoring and frequent consultations with health care providers. This has been made possible by a different kind of approach to medical treatment which is the full integration of the patient and his records with the facility that is taking care of him through the Internet. Take Mr. Calderaro’s health record. In the past patients and doctors both had to contend with clipboards and manual input into computer databases. Mr. Calderaro’s health record is different. His health record actually shifts and changes in accord with his real-time condition. This has been made possible by high-tech monitoring devices. From his blood pressure to his blood sugar levels, everything has been made unified and proactive. Computerized systems for healthcare The newer computerized systems have allowed doctors to become more efficient and more vibrant in what they do. While paper documents are passive and historical documents of patients and different case histories, computerized systems are something else. Computerized databases frequently remind and correct doctors when they are about to make an important decision. A good analogy to this would be Dr. House himself on the popular medical series House. Gregory House is in the bathroom, listening to different variations of heartbeat from a patient. The information has been downloaded into his iPod. When his medical team arrives, he informs them that he found a minor irregularity of heartbeat in one file. He lets the medical team listen in, and they are amazed with his diagnosis. Sheer brilliance aside, any doctor can benefit in this manner from computerized systems. By making the data centralized and accessible to just about anyone that has been authorized to enter the system, such data will be valuable. The Marshfield Clinic in the United States has showed that indeed, computerized records are vital. But at the same time, such data has to be mined continually- because human agency remains an integral function in the complete scheme of things.