In the last 50 years, technology has changed the way we live. Other than what surrounds us in our homes, institutions such as aviation, public libraries and finance have seen paradigm shifts thanks to the core technologies at the heart of their operations. Perhaps no other sector has been altered quite like the world of health care.

Over the past few days, with CES’ shadow looming over the landscape, a few indicators of the changes that have either come to or are on the horizon for health care came to light.

The first was a study appearing in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (now THAT’S specialized) that looked at the role of social media in the reporting of the post-earthquake cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010. Given the ubiquitous nature of Twitter, the study looked at “tweets” emanating from the quake zone in the time leading up to when the outbreak was widely reported by the news media. What was discovered was that Twitter users were reporting the cholera outbreak and bringing forth case data to the world a full two weeks before then outbreak was widely reported.

This story teaches us that in bold terms that the news cycle is evolving to “up-to-the-minute” faster than any of us anticipated. In the case of a disease outbreak, time between identification and treatment can prevent further loss of life. With the threat of pandemics such as SARS and avian flu over the past decade, we now have scientifically-vetted proof that social media can play a very important part in shrinking that time frame.

Part of CES is what is called a “Digital Health Summit”, where a particular innovation or initiative takes center stage during the keynote address. This year was no different, with Ford Motor Company stating that they are partnering with Microsoft and two other tech companies to design a car that will monitor the driver’s health while traveling.

In reading this item, I was immediately reminded of my car trip this past summer that saw me drive from Milwaukee, WI to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and back. In particular, the drive back became what I can only describe as driving between memory gaps. After setting off at 7 AM in St. John’s, I had planned to stop for the night on a Thursday in Moncton, New Brunswick after 12 hours of driving across Newfoundland, 7 hours on a ferry and roughly 5 more hours on the road from Northern Nova Scotia. What I didn’t count on was that apparently Thursday night is “Take Your Mistress Out To Dinner Night” in Moncton, as every hotel room in the town was booked. What followed was 22 more consecutive hours of driving from Moncton to Milwaukee, with stops only for gas, fast food & caffeinated beverages on the New York Thruway and moose hallucinations along the darkened roads of Maritime Canada. Somehow, I arrived safely in Milwaukee at 2 in the morning on a Saturday.

It would have been nice to have had a car that knew I was seeing antlered mirages, so it could shut off and pull over to the side of the road until it detected REM sleep. I hope that Ford follows through on their concept, not just for the exhausted, but for the drivers with health risks that could pose a hidden danger to themselves and other nearby motorists.

The last bit of technology news borrows something from the dark arts of psychic phenomena. On the heels of a study at the University of California-San Francisco which covered development of useful prognostic indicators for older adults, a new website has been created to help create a mostly accurate estimate of an elderly patient’s remaining life expectancy. While planning end-of-life care is a neglected part of the health care debate in this country, there is something about this technology that sends a shiver up my back. One of my all-time favorite short stories is “Imagine A Day At The End Of Your Life” by Ann Beattie. Someday, when my time comes and with the help of this website, I’ll not only be able to imagine such a day, but I may very well be able to mark it on a calendar. Having always believed that life doesn’t include a two-minute warning, I shall look deep within myself in the intervening years to decide how I feel about such a website.

The lightning pace of technological innovation has brought dramatic change to the science of medicine. It would be naive to think that the emerging technologies indicated above are simply novelties, as for every failed invention comes the spark of furthern imagination. Upon my retirement 25 years from now, it is very possible that one or all of these current technological leaps will be considered a quaint stepping stone to what exists at that future moment in time.

Paul Spencer will be presenting at the Fi-Med RAC Summit in Milwaukee, April 16-17, 2012. Go to the summit website for further information. Use promo code “SPENCER” to receive $50 off the registration price for a limited time only.

Now, we all have a chance to help in some way, big or small. They truly need or prayers, but monetary donations are also urgently needed. They need this funding for food, water, shelter and medicine. The doctors there are saying they cannot even provide simple things such as aspirin because all was lost in the quake. You can find information on how and where you can donate on internet sites such as CNN or your local and world news networks. The Red Cross has information on their website and former President Bill Clinton has a relief site at www.clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake. I got a text number last night while I was watching ABC World News that I used to make a donation. You text the word HAITI to 20222 and $10.00 will be added to your cell phone bill. It may seem minimal, but honestly they are pleading for whatever people can give.

So pass the word on to your family and friends and give whatever you can. And please don’t stop praying for the people of Haiti.