A Social and Epidemiologic Approach to Use of Technology in Neurologic Practice

Abstract

There is a consensus that technology is not always used appropriately in many medical care situations. In this article, a social and epidemiologic approach looks beyond biomedical issues to examine short- and long-term social consequences of using newer technology, particularly as related to neurologic disease. The prevailing belief that noninvasive neurodiagnostic testing is harmless for the patient often overlooks important physical and behavioral effects. High-technology subspecialization within neurology affects the matrix of patient care as well as the character of the specialty. The principles of clinical epidemiology and social medicine can help practitioners use neurotechnology more rationally.

Different neurological conditions between urban and rural samples from central Colombia

“…For instance, the case of stroke care capacity in some areas of the United States of America -USA [10] and Colombia [11] show that rural residency is still a factor for not receiving appropriate treatment for acute ischemic stroke within the window of opportunity. The rural-urban imbalance of neurologists seems to be related, at least in part, to the dependency of these specialty practitioners on high technologically-developed diagnostic techniques [12]. And, this technology is found most of the time only in extensively populated cities, especially in areas of the world with limited resource investment in health care, such as Latin America -LA [13].…”