The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is emerging as a leader in the development and adoption of Health IT by creating a physician network that, once fully implemented, will connect some 15,000 physicians across the state. With the enormous benefits patients and doctors can gain from increased Health IT adoption (think cost savings, higher quality care, and increased access to healthcare), MSMS is setting an innovative example other hospitals and providers would be wise to follow.
In recent years, a growing number of organizations, physicians, hospitals, states and even legislators have begun to realize the advantages of increased Health IT adoption €”made possible by broadband investment. We need to turn that realization into action just as MSMS is taking the initiative to connect physicians across the state, so they can communicate and share information instantly.
The system MSMS is developing is much like a health information portal, where physicians can access applications that allow the transfer of important data, such as health records and lab results, and enable e-prescriptions that reduce costs and medical errors. These capabilities will provide better, more reliable healthcare services to patients across Michigan and serve as an example for next-generation healthcare across the U.S.
The promise of Health IT and telemedicine is far-reaching. At a time of extensive debate surrounding healthcare in the United States, programs such as those being implemented in Michigan can provide a model to the rest of the country with the help of broadband.
Broadband is so vital to overcoming many different challenges facing America today, a national broadband strategy that supports deployment throughout the country is not only recommended, but a necessity. That was the message at the National Broadband Strategy Symposium hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance earlier this week.
The symposium brought together members of various industries that are utilizing broadband to improve the lives of Americans every day. Susan Patrick, President of the North American Council for Online Learning, discussed how broadband is fundamentally changing the way education is delivered to students across the globe. Students in rural areas and students with special learning needs now have access to education tailored to them, thanks to online learning. Broadband investment provides the infrastructure necessary to conduct classes online via video conferencing and for students to become more engaged by using new and exciting online learning applications for any subject matter. Following her presentation, NGW caught up with Susan to ask a few more questions and to discuss broadband’s potential to transform the way education is delivered in the 21st century.
Dr. Jay Sanders, President and CEO of the Global Telemedicine Group, spoke about telemedicine programs and how they are changing the way that health care is delivered. Thanks to broadband investment, we now have the ability to bring health care to the patient, instead of the patient having to travel to a doctor’s office or hospital. According to Dr. Sanders, telemedicine and remote monitoring offer the means for health care practitioners to collect much more accurate data, such as blood pressure in your every day setting or glucose levels immediately after you’ve eaten. Telemedicine also allows Americans to live independently later in life with home monitoring systems and prescription tracking. These options provide them the same quality care they would receive from an assisted living community, right from the comfort of their own home.
NGW also spoke with Kathy Johnson, Director of the Alabama Broadband Initiative. Kathy brought an interesting perspective on the issue, discussing what is being done in Alabama’s many rural areas to bring broadband to more people in order for them to benefit from life-enhancing applications, such as online learning, telemedicine, telecommuting and e-commerce. Broadband availability in a state like Alabama is particularly important for commercial purposes. Kathy pointed out that Alabama is home to manufacturing plants of four major auto makers. Without broadband investment, these companies would not have the means to communicate at the speed that business requires on a global scale. Thanks to broadband, economic opportunities are being created across the state that may otherwise not be there. Imagine the possibilities with a comprehensive national broadband strategy that supports investment and innovation throughout our country.
Dr. Alan Rosenblatt brought yet another stellar panel of experts together last week to discuss the online campaign strategies used during the 2008 presidential election for the monthly Internet Advocacy Roundtable. Panelists included:
Although everyone agrees that social networking tools were the heart of the Obama campaign, this discussion took a moment to reflect on why that was, beyond the mere availability. Sifry noted that having Obama as a “friend” on Facebook was the new bumper sticker. Rasiej pointed out that the success was because people could influence friends in a way that was more personalized than sending campaign literature, and Rosenblatt credited the power of the Internet as a marketing and branding tool.
The discussion went on to talk about whether these web-centric channels will continue to influence the government. The response was a unanimous €˜yes.’ Noting Obama’s new type of relationship with the public and the public’s use of web channels, such as Twitter, to communicate, panelists agreed that the playing field has fundamentally changed. It’s just one more way broadband investment is bringing us together and moving our nation forward.
As we begin to celebrate the holiday season, the Washington Post featured the work of a couple who are focused on helping others throughout the year by harnessing the benefits of telemedicine. Working from the comfort of their home just outside of London, Pat and Roger Swinfen use the internet to link sick people with top medical specialists.
Their charity, Swinfen Charitable Trust, uses e-mail to link sick people in poor, remote or dangerous parts of the world with hundreds of medical specialists in some of the world’s finest hospitals. By emailing information and photos, doctors in areas as distant as Afghanistan and Antarctica have access to help from a network of 400 specialists.
NGW has documented similar programs here in the U.S. that maximize broadband’s capabilities to provide quality treatment and life-saving care. The Washington Post compares the Swinfen’s program to a similar system the U.S. military runs to deliver care to service members in the field. Just last week we blogged about the Angels program in Arkansas that is using broadband to deliver specialty pre-natal care straight to the homes of expecting mothers.
These telemedicine capabilities are just one area of importance. Online learning options help students in rural areas gain access to a broader range of courses and help working Americans advance their education by taking courses at night online so they can continue to work at the same time. Broadband also delivers significant environmental benefits by making it faster and easier to telecommute and hold teleconferences which help to reduce our carbon footprint.
We closely track the economic growth and job-creating opportunities broadband investment makes possible. As we engage in vital debates from health care to education to the environment, the role of broadband investment there, too, should not be underestimated.
Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push Media & Telecommunications Symposium
“Keeping Pace With Technological Change”
Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC
December 11-12, 2008
Broadband plays an enormous role in improving the quality of life for anyone with access. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies led a discussion on how the potential of broadband relates to the African American community.
This is why the Joint Center is launching the Media and Technology Institute. Its goal will be to explore issues relating to the digital divide and to identify opportunities for media and technology to help transform communities across America.
Broadband opens doors to Americans that may otherwise remain shut. Whether it’s increased access to education via distance learning, or higher quality health care thanks to telemedicine, broadband changes lives. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the convenience of broadband, and forget about what life would be like without it. The Joint Center’s Media and Technology Institute will help ensure that broadband, along with other technologies, are not taken for granted, and help guarantee that America continues to search for ways that technology can help solve the most vexing issues in our society.
During the event, Larry Irving, Senior Fellow for the Joint Center’s Media and Technology Institute, discussed America as we are, and America as we hope to be. Broadband, Irving claimed, is crucial to the aspirations of where America hopes to go. Discussions about broadband do not just encompass technology policy. Rather, broadband must play a central role in the ongoing development of health care, education, energy and economic policy.
In a recent edition of Focus Magazine (put out by the Joint Center), Link Hoewing of Verizon wrote that for the U.S. to remain competitive and for America’s technology companies to sustain their unprecedented investment in state-of-the-art broadband networks, we must engage America’s youth. “First,” Hoewing wrote, “all of our students need to have access to and be able to use broadband technologies, computers and advanced mobile devices such as PDAs and web-enabled cell phones.”
This fits perfectly with what the Joint Center’s new Institute (and NextGenWeb) hopes to accomplish — using technology to enhance people’s lives.
Several new electoral trends emerged during the recent presidential election that accounted for Barack Obama’s victory and his nomination as the 44th president of the United States. This historic victory was the result of several different factors, not the least of which was the role that technology played throughout the election cycle. The Obama campaign harnessed the power of broadband unlike anything the political world had ever seen.
This morning National Journal and Powell Tate hosted a discussion with some of the leading journalists and pollsters who covered the race from start to finish. It was a dynamic, substantive and at times light-hearted discussion on the Obama victory and what it means for the American political landscape.
Be sure to check back soon for exclusive NextGenWeb video footage of the event as well as more live streams that deliver democracy right to your doorstep - or laptop. That’s the power of broadband.
social networking