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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Following a keynote address from Christyl Johnson of the National Science & Technology Council, the 2009 Women’s Congressional Broadband Summit continued yesterday with a presentation by Dr. Karen Rheuban on the benefits of broadband to patients and healthcare providers. Dr. Rheuban is the President of the American Telemedicine Association and is the Medical Director of the Office of Telemedicine at University of Virginia. Click below to watch the address Dr. Rheuban shared with legislators and a quick interview with NextGenWeb!
Some important takeaways:
NextGenWeb just wrapped up its third year of participation with the Center for Connected Health’s Annual Symposium – which focuses on the integration of technology and health care. Timely conversation on a couple different fronts as both health care and Internet policy are hot topics in Washington these days.
We were fortunate to spend some time today with Dr. Joe Kvedar, the Director of the Center for Connected Health in Boston. We touched on the Net neutrality issue and also spoke of the need for continued integration of technology into America’s health care system. Check out the video below – and be sure to read Dr. Kvedar’s comment submitted to the Washington Post recently on how he feels regarding increased regulation of the Internet vis-à-vis robust connected health platforms.
When you hear “health care,” not too long ago broadband wouldn’t likely be the first thing that came to mind. Had you attended the Health Care Interoperability session at this year’s Center for Connected Health Symposium perhaps it would. Rajeev Kapoor, Vice President & Managing Director at Verizon gave a compelling presentation on Verizon’s network – and the broadband-enabled health care apps associated with it – and how both are key components to a more efficient system. It was hard not to listen intently since the presentation started with a statistic that says 100,000 people die each year from unnecessary medical errors. This is serious business. Kapoor also referenced more than once how Verizon’s Chairman, Ivan Seidenberg, also Chairman of the Business Roundtable, is working with the Obama Administration to help integrate technology into an overall effort aimed at revolutionizing a heavily outdated health care delivery network. Verizon is serious about playing a role in bringing patients – and health care providers – a better system.
We caught up with Rajeev after the session to discuss these and other matters. Be sure to check out our chat below.
As the health care debate continues, we were fortunate to spend some time with Tim Olivier, who has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry. As Chief Operating Officer of the Healthcare Industry Group at Perot Systems, Mr. Oliver talked with us about the critical role broadband plays in improving the quality of care for patients while lowering costs for the system. To learn more about the Mass Connector, visit their website by clicking here.
And be sure to check out our interview below.
Sign up for email and Twitter updates.
social networking