Major Differences in Hospitals Today and 100 Years Ago
Medicine has a history spanning many thousands of years and specialized establishments for treating the sick have also existed for a long period of time. Despite the fact that hospitals’ functions have not changed much during the last century, technological and scientific progress has made possible treatment approaches that could not have been implemented a hundred years ago and made a large contribution to health care. The main differences between hospitals today and a century ago are improved surgical techniques, safer use of anesthesia, and safer childbirth procedures.
Today, many people take anesthesia for granted and cannot imagine surgery without local or complete analgesia. Anesthetics are widely-used, and oftentimes, even minor surgery is done with the mandatory application of these drugs. They have become significantly less dangerous, and the control over their usage is applied effectively. This can be attributed to the invention of the re-breathing circuit by Ralph Waters, which facilitated the application of artificial ventilation during surgery (Stephen 24).
It should be emphasized that there has been a radical transformation in the way hospitals operate today compared to a century ago. Improvement in anesthetics administration has made surgery safer and new birth techniques employed by hospitals have facilitated a smooth child delivery procedure. Most of this can be attributed to new scientific innovations. Modern hospitals are not yet in the clear. They still face challenges like the emergence of new diseases and a lack of adequate facilities which hamper their efforts. When compared to hospitals that existed a hundred years ago, modern hospitals have transformed greatly in how they deliver their services.