The advanced technologies being used in diagnosis and care within modern medicine, whilst supporting and making medical practices possible, may also conflict with established traditions of medicine and care. What happens to the patient in a technologized medical environment? How are doctors', nurses' and medical scientists' practices changed when artefacts are involved? How is knowledge negotiated, or relations of power reconfigured? Technology and Medical Practice addresses these developments and dilemmas, focusing on various practices with technologies within hospitals and sociotechnical systems of care. Combining science and technology studies with medical sociology, the history of medicine and feminist approaches to science, this book presents analyses of artefacts-in-use across a variety of settings within the UK, USA and Europe, and will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of science and technology alike.

The culture of contemporary medicine is the object of investigation in this book; the meanings and values implicit in biomedical knowledge and practice and the social processes through which they are produced are examined through the use of specific case studies. The essays provide examples of how various facets of 20th century medicine, including edu cation, research, the creation of medical knowledge, the development and application of technology, and day to day medical practice, are per vaded by a value system characteristic of an industrial-capitalistic view of the world in which the idea that science represents an objective and value free body of knowledge is dominant. The authors of the essays are sociologists and anthropologists (in almost equal numbers); also included are papers by a social historian and by three physicians all of whom have steeped themselves in the social sci ences and humanities. This co-operative endeavor, which has necessi tated the breaking down of disciplinary barriers to some extent, is per haps indicative of a larger movement in the social sciences, one in which there is a searching for a middle ground between grand theory and attempts at universal explanations on the one hand, and the context-spe cific empiricism and relativistic accounts characteristic of many historical and anthropological analyses on the other.

"This book focuses on the latest medical practices through the utilization of technologies and innovative concepts"--

This book brings together a collection of empirical case studies featuring a wide spectrum of medical innovation. While there is no unique pathway to successful medical innovation, recurring and distinctive features can be observed across different areas of clinical practice. This book examines why medical practice develops so unevenly across and within areas of disease, and how this relates to the underlying conditions of innovation across areas of practice. The contributions contained in this volume adopt a dynamic perspective on medical innovation based on the notion that scientific understanding, technology and clinical practice co-evolve along the co-ordinated search for solutions to medical problems. The chapters follow an historical approach to emphasise that the advancement of medical know-how is a contested, nuanced process, and that it involves a variety of knowledge bases whose evolutionary paths are rooted in the contexts in which they emerge. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners concerned with medical innovation, management studies and the economics of innovation. Chapter 5 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at www.tandfebooks.com/openaccess. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license.

The world of medical technologies is undergoing a sea change in the domain of consumer culture. Having a grasp on what appeals to consumers and how consumers are making purchasing decisions is essential to the success of any organization that thrives by offering a product or service. As such, it is vital to examine the consumer-centered aspects of medical technological developments that have a patient-centered focus and allow patients to take part in their own personal health and wellness. Consumer-Driven Technologies in Healthcare: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a critical source of academic knowledge on the use of smartphones and other technological devices for cancer therapy, fitness and wellness, chronic disease monitoring, and other areas. The tracking of these items using technology has allowed consumers to take control of their own healthcare. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as clinical decision support systems, patient engagement, and electronic health records, this publication is an ideal reference source for doctors, nurse practitioners, hospital administrators, medical professionals, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers interested in advancing medical practice through technology.

Such readers may include but are not limited to health administrators, technology planners, biomedical engineers and technologists, and supervisors and managers of technology-intensive departments."--BOOK JACKET.

eHealth has revolutionized health care and the practice of medicine. Internet technologies have given the most rural communities access to healthcare services, and automated computer algorithms are improving medical diagnoses and speeding up the delivery of care. Handheld apps, wearable devices, and artificial intelligence lead the way, creating a global healthcare solution that is smarter and more accessible. Read what leaders in the field are doing to advance the use of electronic technology to improve global health.