To finish “broadband and healthcare” week, NextGenWeb had another opportunity to tour the AT&T Innovation Center. Larry Crenshaw, Technical Director for AT&T’s Innovation Center, demonstrated the innovative ways broadband is now being used in the healthcare field. He demonstrated how a small box can become a doctor’s office and even the benefits of having patients records online can improve diagnosis and save money on repeated tests.

As this week has shown, broadband has the power to greatly improve our healthcare system. Patients can now get one-on-one care from a physician even if they are in remote areas of the nation. Broadband allows the world to connect, and having doctors and medical providers on the same page with their patients allows for better treatment and practices.

To learn more about the ways AT&T is using broadband to make advancements in the medical field, watch below:

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On Friday, NextGenWeb attended the National Summit of Clinicians for Healthcare Justice. During one of the panels, Dr. Andrew Narva discussed his work in telenephrology, using telehealth communications to work with patients who suffer from diabetic and kidney diseases. NextGenWeb has often mentioned the importance of broadband working to improve healthcare and Dr. Narva’s use with telenephrology is exactly that.

Dr. Narva focuses a good deal of his efforts in the American Indian community. Both kidney disease and diabetes are a growing concern among American Indians, at a rate of three times higher than the average population. The cost of receiving care is often high and the location of help centers is few. With the use of broadband and telehealth, American Indians are able to receive the care and support they need from doctors with just a click of the mouse.

Dr. Narva is one of the only doctors using telehealth methods on tribal lands. He uses broadband to connect American Indians on rural tribal lands to doctors and nurses in real time. Healthcare professionals even have access to electronic health records. Having access to this information allows many doctors to understand the patient’s medical history. This type of technology can be used to greatly improve the health of not only American Indians, but anyone who lives in an area not close to medical clinics. Patients are able to get the information they need and specific care from healthcare professionals by connecting with broadband internet.

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Broadband plays a large role in many aspects of our public safety.   However, we most often discuss the role of broadband in public safety in terms of improving first response systems and national security.  But with the latest threat to the public being food safety, Daniel Castro of technology think tank ITIF takes a closer look at how better use of broadband technology could minimize damages in “the next Salmonella Egg-idemic.”

Castro points out that today’s big farms (egg and otherwise) are widely embracing technology already, from monitoring soil moisture to RFID tags to track livestock.  But with a larger trend of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States in recent years, Castro suggests several ways technology could be used to help with detection and prevention, even beyond the CDC’s Pulsenet, an information system used to detect foodborne illness case clusters.

In the future, better information could allow public health officials to identify and trace outbreaks more quickly. For example, if a nationwide system of interoperable electronic health records were made available in real-time for public research, this could allow epidemiologists to track outbreaks from unreported or undiagnosed illnesses by looking at data on reported symptoms. The FDA is also developing new technologies to rapidly capture, analyze and share data on foodborne pathogens through a web-based, interactive system.

Castro goes on to cite several government and private sector food safety projects in development that will take full advantage of today’s broadband technology.   He concludes by encouraging a policy framework that will best enable these potentially life-saving innovations to flourish, reminding policymakers “IT has an important role to play in monitoring, detecting and responding to public health threats and protecting the safety of our food supply.”

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One of the very important sectors of society that broadband is helping to improve is health care.  With firm evidence of the progress that broadband-enabled telemedicine applications provide in treatment, costs, and overall efficiency, the FCC is charging forward with their rural telemedicine plan.  NPR’s All Things Considered took note with a feature yesterday walking listeners (and readers) through examples of the opportunities broadband powers in rural health care.

Two afternoons a week, Dr. Alison Semrad, an endocrinologist, sits at a desk and consults with patients over a broadband video conference.

In a recent conference, Laura McKewan sat in a chair in front of a camera at a clinic 300 miles away in Eureka. She has Addison’s disease, a rare condition that affects the adrenal glands. McKewan would have to drive six hours to San Francisco to see an endocrinologist, so she jumped at the chance to consult with Semrad.

This comes on the heels of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s recent trip to a Seattle Children’s Hospital for a demonstration of their video conferencing system, which is improving their patient care.  Of course, this is just the beginning.  As facilities and patients adopt broadband at greater rates, more people in rural areas will be able to embrace video conferencing as a standard part of their health care.  In fact, the vice president of information systems of Kadlec, the company that demonstrated at this event, predicts that eventually “they’re going to become as commonplace as telephones.” Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/14/1301149/kadlec-talks-to-specialists-via.html#ixzz0wyUELyfm

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On July 21, the eHealth Policy Institute hosted an event titled, “Improving the Nation’s Health —A Public Health Perspective on the HITECH Act and Health Care Reform.” Click below to watch archived footage.

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On Thursday, June 17, NextGenWeb attended the Health Information Technology Showcase and Demonstration hosted by the Institute for eHealth Policy. As part of National Health IT Week, the showcase featured interactive tabletop exhibits of more than 30 leading government agencies, universities, and health care and technology organizations as well as a panel discussion titled, “HITECH: Strategies for Delivering on The Promise to Rural and Underserved Communities.” Following the panel, we caught up with Marcia Thomas-Brown, Program Manager for the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT). Click below to watch the interview, as well as full archived footage of the panel.

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In a panel focused on telemedicine at the Broadband Properties Summit 2010, two major themes emerged – access and cost savings. Broadband-enabled telemedicine applications increase access to quality, affordable healthcare for millions of Americans, including those in rural communities and the aging population. Immense cost savings can also be realized through telemedicine, thanks largely to reduced travel costs.

Nancy Green, Managing Principal of the Healthcare Practice at Verizon Business, focused her remarks on the benefits of telemedicine for the aging population. Home monitoring tools, delivered over state-of-the-art broadband networks, allow patients to stay in their homes longer. Green also touched on the quality of video that can be delivered over broadband, allowing for better and faster care right in the home.

Rob Scheschareg, President and Co-founder of MedConcierge, highlighted the cost savings that can be realized thanks to telemedicine. Scheschereg said, “With healthcare, there’s a need but not a want.” Broadband creates for a more favorable value proposition for both consumers and providers. Broadband also allows for tailored healthcare delivery, be it through the dynamic presentation of vital signs or educational videos.

Click below to see exclusive interviews with Green and Scheschereg.

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What role does broadband play in disaster response and recovery? An important and versatile one, according to a panel of experts who spoke today at the Brookings Institute. The panel, titled “Telehealth and Mobile Communications: The New Frontier in Modern Emergency Preparedness,” featured Dr. Alexander Vo, Executive Director of the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at the University of Texas at Galveston, Marion Orr, Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at Brown University, and Joe Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services at the American Red Cross.

Becker discussed the results of a recent survey that aimed to determine the likelihood of people to evacuate when faced with the prospect of a looming natural disaster. He also talked about how social media is dramatically changing the way leaders in the emergency response sector are doing business, citing the American Red Cross specifically. Becker also touched on the importance of leveraging technologies that people use in their every day life and making them part of the disaster response equation.

Dr. Alexander Vo discussed a recent study released by the University of Texas Medical Branch titled, “UTMB Telemedicine Disaster Response and Recovery: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike.” The study examines the role of broadband in delivering telemedicine applications, especially in the event of a natural disaster or major emergency. Vo stressed the importance of telemedicine networks partnering with state and local governments as well as commercial broadband providers in order to ensure that the information is delivered reliably. Dr. Vo made what is sure to be a splash for those who get caught up in the “rankings” game. When asked what country is setting the example in telemedicine programs, Dr. Vo answered the United States in both application and practice, with a major contributing factor being broadband infrastructure availability.

Click below to watch more from Dr. Vo in his exclusive interview with NextGenWeb.

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On the heels of the release of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, the Health IT Now Coalition sponsored a panel discussion yesterday between experts on broadband, healthcare and the economy, featuring FCC Digital Healthcare Director Dr. Mohit Kaushal. All panelists agreed that the FCC’s plan is a step in the right direction towards utilizing broadband to better patient care in the US.

Dr. Kaushal led with a presentation sharing the FCC’s vision and goals for using broadband in the health sphere. Calling broadband a platform for innovation and information exchange, Kaushal estimated that broadband could save some $700 Billion in health care spending over the next 15 years. He cited broadband as a way to improve utilization of health data, allowing more efficient sharing of records between hospitals and ensuring that patients have access to their most recent data.

Regarding the Rural Health Care Program, the FCC recommendations call for the expansion of eligibility for participating programs to include certain private and for-profit groups, which was met with support by the panelists. Hank Fanberg, the technology manager at CHRISTUS Health, said that was a major sticking point for him in supporting the FCC’s plan because CHRISTUS operates largely in Texas, where quality health care is often limited in rural areas.

Jim Bialick, the Health IT coordinator for Genetic Alliance, agreed with Fanberg, but also warned that broadband infrastructure needs to be built up in conjunction with reform. He said there’s a huge gap in the ability to send health data, especially in rural areas, where brand new technology is relying on old infrastructure.

John Santelli of United Health Care touched on the “Green” aspect of Health IT, pointing out that broadband could transform health care into a paperless industry, with patients receiving automated and real-time results.

Rounding out the panel was Karen Rheuban, practicing physician and President of the American Telemedicine Association. Like her co-panelists, Rheuban applauded the FCC’s efforts, especially where it improves rural health care, but issued one final caveat to the group: beware of government regulations that unintentionally stifle innovation.

Listening to this panel of experts, there’s no doubt that broadband will play a fundamental and critical role in improving the health care economy in the US.

Click below to watch archived footage from the event.

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Women in Technology hosted a roundtable event to give their members a closer look at how healthcare policy intersects with technology.  The presentations dove into where our government is heading when it comes to Health IT.  Particularly when it comes to Electronic Health Records, the speakers focused on the recent progress in moving these life- (and money-) saving technologies forward.

Tina Olson, SVP for Policy at the Healthcare Leadership Council, noted that electronic health records were actually part of the economic stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).  The bill provides many deadlines, standards and incentives.  They include Medicare bonus payments to eligible physicians and hospitals using electronic health records as soon as 2011.

The stimulus bill also includes:

• $2 billion for an Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT within HHS;
• $21 billion in net spending ($44.7 billion in total outlays) to Medicare and Medicaid providers that adopt and demonstrate meaningful use of Health IT;
• Provisions on the privacy and security of protected health information.

In related news, according to Government Health IT, a panel advising the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT said it will heed the overwhelming consensus it has received in recent public comments to develop the simplest possible certification standards for accelerating health IT adoption.

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