The healthcare industry has been around since doctors bartered chickens to pay for their services. In contrast, computers, in their modern form, have only been around since the 1940s. So when did technology become a part of healthcare? The first electronic health records (EHR) programs were created in the 1960s, around the time the Kennedy administration began exploring the validity of these products (Neal, 2013). Between the 1960s and the current administration, there has been little to no progress in the EHR field, despite monumental advances in available software and hardware. Although some technologies more directly related to healthcare, such as digital radiology, have made advances, medical records programs and practice management programs have gained little popularity. Doctors had no reason or need to have complicated and expensive health records. That all changed with the introduction of the Meaningful Use program introduced in 2011. Meaningful Use is designed to encourage and eventually force the use of EHR programs. Additionally, it imposes basic requirements on EHR software manufacturers that have become fragmented in function and form. The result is that in 2001, 18 percent of offices used EHR and in 2013, 78 percent used EHR (Chun-Ju Hsiao, 2014). Now that you are aware of some technologies in healthcare, let's discuss some major topics that have arisen due to recent changes. First, what outdated technologies is healthcare still using, what new technologies are they exploring, then what security problems are we creating and what is the cost of all of this. Some outdated technologies include fax machines, paper (yes again), and pagers. which until I got into healthcare I didn't know you could...... middle of paper...... you're out. In conclusion, a warning: technology is there to guide and assist a doctor, it is not and has never been intended to replace the doctor-patient relationship. Works Cited Chun-Ju Hsiao, P. a. (January 17, 2014). Use and characteristics of electronic health record systems among office-based medical practices: United States, 2001-2013. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db143.htmNeal, H. (2013, January 10). History of electronic health records (EHR). Retrieved April 24, 2014, from Software Advice: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/ehr-timeline-113/Perna, G. (May 7, 2013). Study: Pagers, Obsolete Communication Technologies That Cost Hospitals. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from Healthcare Informatics: http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/study-pagers-outdated-communication-tech-costing-hospitals