Howell 1-2
What was reason hospitals were needed in the civil war?
How was that different in the early 20th century?
not just there were new machines, but what meaning was given
to those machines?
examine social concerns, not just scientific facts
In 1900 science was not seen as relevant to every-day
treatment in the hospital
By 1925 it was
Why?
- invention of new technologies
- attract more affluent patients
- information from machines is valued as more
objective than reports by patients
Definition of technology (p. 8)
- machines
- ways of accomplishing a goal
- knowledge
Patient records make it possible to look at what was
actually done, not just the ideals in medical journals
universal ideals vs. local practices in medical care
there was in fact a lot of variation in how machines were used
before 1925
example of blood pressure machine
- the machine gives you a number, easier to compare
and looks more scientific
- the nurse can now do it
- more people can be seen--more efficient
- a lot of time in medical school had been spent
teaching pulse diagnosis
- some traditional expertise was no longer needed
- some information is more accurate, other
information is lost
Chapter 2
The first technologies to make a difference in
hospitals were business technologies
- craze for scientific efficiency: Taylorism
- record-keeping (note experiences of the civil war)
- cost-accounting caught on around 1910, so you could
see which parts of the organization made money
New machines
- adding machines that could do more complicated
calculations
- punch card record keeping developed for the census
- standardized forms
- typewriters were fast and made records look modern
- data collecting charts
Surgery was much more efficient if other people could
do the other parts of patient care
brought patients and money into the hospital