PHS - Ch. 1 Welcome to Health Science (Slides 1-16)

Ch. 1: Welcome to the Field of Health Science
(Slides 1-16)

​1. Evolution of Healthcare
2. Future Trends
3. Current Issues In Healthcare

The Evolution of Healthcare

In the past 100 years, there have been advancements in the world of medicine and the acceptance of new attitudes and beliefs about healthcare that have been guided by medical research and development.

Medical Advancements: 100 Years ago

• 👨‍⚕️ Doctors in medical school focused on studying diseases—their symptoms and how they developed/progressed.

• 🩺 Physicians could often diagnose illnesses and predict the likely outcome (prognosis).

• 💊 Treatments were usually meant to relieve pain or make patients comfortable.

• ❌ Most diseases could not be cured—only managed.

Challenges of Medicine Back Then

• 🧪 Limited technology – no advanced machines, scans, or lab tests like we have today.

• 💉 Few medications existed (no antibiotics until the 1940s!).

• 🧬 Very little knowledge about germs, viruses, and genetics compared to now.

• 🏥 Hospitals focused more on caring for patients rather than curing them.

Medical Advancements: 50 Years Ago

• 🔬 Research and discoveries kept improving medical care.

• 💊 New & better drugs were developed.

  • Penicillin → powerful antibiotic that cured infections once deadly (like bacterial meningitis).

  • Insulin → life-saving treatment for people with diabetes.

• 🦴 X-rays became common to check for broken bones.

Preventing Illnesses

• 💉 Vaccines helped stop many serious diseases.

  • Smallpox vaccine → wiped out a deadly disease worldwide.

  • Tetanus vaccine → protected people from life-threatening infections.

• 🛡️ These vaccines greatly reduced illness and death rates.

Medical Advancements: Today

• 🧪 We have highly advanced technology to treat and cure diseases.

• 🚀 New discoveries are being made all the time.

• 💓 Patients can now receive life-saving treatments, such as:

  • ❤️ Heart bypass surgeries (help blood flow around blocked arteries)

  • 🫀 Heart valve replacements (fix damaged heart valves)

  • 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Organ transplants (kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, etc.)

Critical Thinking🧠

What are 3 differences between doctors from 100 years ago and doctors today?

🏠 Then: Doctors made home visits.

❤️ Then: Doctors could not cure most diseases.

• ✅Now: Doctors can use life-saving treatments.

🏥 Then: There were not enough hospitals to provide advanced care.

• ✅Now: Hospitals have modern technology and treatments.

Multiple Choice

As recently as 100 years ago, doctors might have been able to __________ an illness, but they were often unable to ____________ it.

• diagnose, cure

• cure, diagnose

Multiple Choice

After fifty years of medical advancements, physicians had ​_________ to cure bacterial infections.

• antibiotics

• narcotics
• saline injections
• x-rays

Multiple Choice

Today, medical care is changing rapidly because of advances in ____________

• technology

• vaccinations

• shots

• advances in educational opportunities

The evolution of healthcare is not limited to changes in patient care and treatment; it also includes changes in the current attitudes and beliefs.

🌿 What is Holistic Care?

• 👤 Treats the whole person (not just symptoms).

• 🧠 Considers mental health.

• ❤️ Includes physical health.

• 👥 Looks at social well-being.

• 🙏 Takes spiritual health into account.

• 🌱 Uses alternative & complementary therapies (ex: meditation, massage, acupuncture).

New Attitudes & Beliefs

Future Trends in Healthcare

Genomic Medicine
🧬 Uses a patient’s unique genes & chromosomes.

• 🎯 Provides personalized medical care (different for each person).

• 🛡️ Helps prevent illness before it happens.

• 💪 Supports long-term health and wellness.

What diseases can Genomic Medicine treat?

• Hepatitis B, Heart Disease, Cancers

Future Trends in Healthcare

Regenerative Medicine

• 🧪 A type of medical care that creates living tissue.

• 🧍‍♂️ Helps replace or repair tissues and organs.

• ⏳ Used when body parts are damaged from:

  • 👵 Aging

  • 🤒 Disease

  • 🤕 Injury

  • 👶 Birth disorders

Future Trends: Medical Imaging

Medical Imaging

• 🩻 X-Rays → check bones & injuries

• 🖥️ CT Scans → detailed cross-section images

• 🧲 MRI → uses magnets to see inside the body

• 👶 Ultrasound → safe imaging (commonly for pregnancies, organs)

• 📹 Colonoscopy → camera to view inside the colon

Future Trends: Miniaturization & Nanotechnology

• ⚙️ Medicine + engineering = smaller, smarter devices

• ❤️ Stents → keep blood vessels open

• 🔋 Pacemakers → help regulate heartbeat

• 🧬 Nanotechnology could lead to microscopic tools working inside the body

Future Trends: Surgery

🏥 Technology is changing how surgeries are done

🩺 Examples:

• 💉 Catheters → tubes used for treatment or diagnosis

• 🔪 Laparoscopic procedures → small incisions, less recovery time

• 🏃‍♂️ Outpatient procedures → patients go home the same day

• 🤖 Robotic surgeries → robots assist surgeons for precision

Future Trends: Medical Records

• 💻 Digital patient records = Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

• 🩺 Healthcare workers can:

  • 📊 Access patient information quickly

  • 📝 Enter vital signs & treatments

• ⚡ Improves accuracy, efficiency, and communication in healthcare

Multiple Choice

Healthcare professionals are now embracing a more ___________ approach to healthcare that focuses on more than just the physical needs of the patient.

• holistic

• basic

• minimal

• genomic

Match

Match the following:

• Uses a patient’s genes to prevent illness and keep them healthy.

• Creates living tissue to replace damaged organs or tissues.

• Creating smaller, more powerful medical devices.

• Techniques that give detailed images of the body’s internal structures.

• Stores all patient information and treatments digitally.

genomic medicine

regenerative medicine

miniaturization

medical imaging

Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

• genomic medicine

• regenerative medicine

• miniaturization

• medical imaging

• Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

Current Issues in Healthcare⚠️

Affordability Vs. Accessibility

• 💸 Many people in the U.S. struggle to pay for healthcare.

• 🏥 Lack of access can lead to earlier deaths or untreated illnesses.

• 🤝 Efforts are being made to improve affordability and access for everyone.

Critical Thinking🧠

​Why are healthcare costs rising in the United States?

• 💻 New technologies → advanced treatments can be expensive

• ⏳ Longer lifespans → more years of medical care needed

• 🍔 Lifestyle choices → chronic conditions like diabetes increase costs

Addressing the Issues✅

​Affordable Care Act (2010)

• 🏛️ Signed into law to reform healthcare in the U.S.

• 💳 Aims to provide insurance to more Americans.

• 🏥 Goal: Make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone.