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Period: to
Quality Metric Over the Decades
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Discovery of ABO Blood Types
Dr. Karl Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood types while studying at the University of Vienna. His work is credited with our ability to transfuse blood from donors. His work eventually earned him a Nobel Prize in 1930 (The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica, n.d.). -
Development of test to determine coagulation times
Drs Lee and White develop a test to determine a patient's clotting time, called the Lee-White clotting time or LWCT (Lee White, 1913). -
Discovery of Insulin
Dr. Frederick Banting and medical student, Charles Best discover the hormone insulin. They test it on dogs and found it successfully brought blood sugars back down into the normal range (UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, n.d.). -
Discovery of Penicillin
Penicillin is discovered by Alexander Fleming. -
First Patient Receives Penicillin
A policeman with a serious infection was treated with penicillin for the first time. He improved over 24 hours, but eventually died as there was not enough penicillin to complete a full course (Gaynes, 2017). -
First Cardiac Pacemaker
Researcher John Hopps develops first external cardiac pacemaker. -
Birth control pill approved by the FDA
The first birth control pill was approved by the FDA for widespread use (Tyrer, 1999). -
MRI
World's first MRI machine does first full-body scan (Sandomir, 2022). -
HIV identified as the virus that causes AIDS
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Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project launched in 1990 with the goal of mapping and sequencing the entire human genome. This was completed in 2021 (Wikipedia, n.d.). -
C-reactive protein predicts heart attack risk
A study in women found high levels of C-reactive protein correlated with an increased heart attack risk. This remained true even when cholesterol levels were normal (Ridker et al., 2002). -
Affordable Care Act signed into law
This act brought affordable healthcare to Americans who would otherwise be unable to afford it. -
mRNA vaccine developed to treat COVID
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Artificial Intelligence improves diagnosis
With advancements in AI technology and improvements in the availability of energy resources for AI processing, the technology should be able to do large scale interrogations of medical charts. This should help illuminate patterns we have missed and help with patient diagnosis. -
Cancer treatments based on individual genetics
As gene technology advances, specific treatments for cancer can be developed, improving patient outcomes.