The healthcare sector is the backbone of any country and its economy. A healthy workforce is a necessity for any nation’s growth. Therefore, improvement and advancements in healthcare processes are a requirement no country can ignore.
Science and technology have contributed substantially to this end. Over the last few decades, the advancement in this field has been remarkable. The healthcare domain has always embraced new possibilities with warmth. For technological development also, they have not responded otherwise.
With the latest technologies in place, medical practitioners can now diagnose and treat any diseases faster than before.
Face recognition technology is one of the tools the healthcare industry is using these days for treating people. However, every patient in America does not feel equally content with the whole idea.
Different Opinions About Using Face Recognition Technique
While millions of people consume healthcare facilities in the U.S, only a few agree with this technique. Statistically, only two-thirds of the total number of healthcare consumers in the U.S has given a nod to this arrangement.
The rest are still not okay with surgeons using digital facial recognition for medical treatment. Besides minimizing medical errors, this technology also helps in the accurate identification of patients. The number of people supporting the involvement of this technology in researching processes for advanced medicine formulation is further less.
Less than half of the people are okay with the idea of researchers implementing face recognition data for precision medicine.
The Survey In Background
The above statements are not random and have a solid base. Plus One journal published a survey-based study in this month’s edition.
PennState’s Jennifer Wagner, JD, PhD, along with other colleagues carried out this survey, which includes the results of 4000 individual surveys. The statements mentioned above substantiate this team’s finding on form grounds.
The sample, chosen for the survey included people belonging to different ages, gender, geographic region, racial and ethnic backgrounds. Diversity regarding educational levels, income, political views, and more were also integral to the selection process of the respondents. Such a diverse palette was critical for avoiding any predictable trend.
The Study
The surveyors divided this massive team of 4000 into two halves. One-half of this sample registered their response regarding the use of general biometrics if they had to participate in any. The other part was to venture their individual opinion about the use of facial recognition technology in several health care domains such as research or medicine.
The Outcomes
To its surprise, the team of surveyors found that most people responded against the use of facial recognition. For both research-related works and medical treatment, most people disposed of the idea of using facial recognition technology. People were not in favor of the notion of a technology monitoring their emotions or symptoms.
According to the final comments of Wagner and the co-authors, only further surveys can clear the doubts about the factors leading to such opinions. Some people were unsure about the use of facial recognition technology in the field of medicine while some were completely against it. Both these views need further investigation to find out the contributing factors leading to such refusals.
More Findings
Here are some other remarkable findings of the survey:
● 55.5% of the respondents expressed their worries about the privacy of medical records in case of facial images or DNA being collected for precision health research.
● 24.8% voted against the DNA component of the process.
● 22.0% were not in favor of both the components of the study.
However, the surveyors have accepted the limitations which impacted the results to some extent. The team indicated the lack of situations providing other options for face recognition technology. With the alternatives, the outcomes might have been slightly different.
Final Words
Sara Katsanis of Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital concluded that ELSI research should focus on several other aspects. These aspects include the management process of facial imaging data, security of the data, and scrutiny of the HIPAA knowledge gap.
All these and more can influence the level of faith people have in these technology-driven processes. According to Sara, both medical professionals and researchers should consider these aspects more thoroughly to gain people’s trust in technology-integrated healthcare operations.
Katsanis further clarified that the survey data upholds the hidden fear of people regarding data theft incidents. Therefore, by integrating more data security mechanisms into the healthcare environment, winning people’s confidence will be easier.
The healthcare sector is evolving fast beyond any doubt. Changes are all around, and sooner or later, the advanced processes are sure to win people’s confidence. If data security bothers you the most, at sepstream® you will get the best medical imaging software with complete data protection.
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