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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Hundreds of health IT policy stakeholders from across the nation have descended on our nation’s capital for this year’s National Health IT Week (June 14-18, 2010). Stakeholders range from innovators, to practitioners, to physicians, to patients, which can make policymaking complex.   Some of the issues that HIMSS members hope to discuss with policymakers include funding and incentives, delivery transformation, consumer empowerment, standards, and more.  This range of interests and issues is precisely why the HIMSS Policy Summit is so important to organizing members.  The Summit ensures that members are educated on the current Health IT policy challenges and what solutions will best meet the HIMSS mission –to lead the healthcare transformation through the effective use of health information technology.

NextGenWeb attended the launch of the HIMSS Policy Summit and got to talk with some Health IT leaders participating in Capitol Hill meetings.  Click below to watch interviews with Neal Neuberger, Executive Director of the Institute for e-Health Policy and Brad Seamon, of BL Seamon Corp. to hear what they are doing with Health IT and the role that they see for broadband in the growth of health IT.

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One of the central themes during both the Health 2.0 conference and the Disruptive Women in Health Care Breakfast events was the growing role of the patient in their health care decisions.  Whereas once patients were limited to the information given by their doctor and perhaps an encyclopedia at home, patients now have the Internet to provide a world of new information.  And this new world of information is empowering patients with questions, solutions, research, and more, to play a more active role in their health care choices.

One of the most popular ways of gathering and sharing health information is through targeted social networks, like Patients Like Me.  More than just a social network, Patients Like Me captures and shares valuable results among patients, health care professionals, and industry organizations that are trying to treat disease. NextGenWeb spoke with the website’s Chairman and Co-Founder, Jamie Heywood, about the site and what makes it so successful.  “Simplicity of use is necessary, but the real thing you have to focus on is solving a problem for someone.”

People are also able to take better control of their health with broadband-enabled tools designed around general health and wellness.  Although many websites geared towards diet and exercise offer information, there is a movement of innovation around taking the next steps to motivation, tracking and sharing. NextGenWeb spoke with Nicholas Tolson, the CEO of FitFeud, an online fitness competition site while at the Health 2.0 Conference.  See how his company is embracing broadband for wellness below.

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As health IT becomes a growing part of the national agenda, it’s only fitting that leaders of the health 2.0 movement bring the Health 2.0 Conference, which originated in San Francisco in 2007, to Washington, DC.   Conference attendees varied from companies, to physicians, to patient advocates, to government officials, all there to share technologies and discuss both the challenges and opportunities that these technologies bring.  Led by conference organizers Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya, topics of discussion included driving adoption, the role of the consumer, data liberation, and much more.

Farzad Mostashari, Deputy Director of the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, gave one of the keynote addresses.  Since part of Mostashari’s job is to manage the taxpayers’ investment in health IT, he shared five principles that the Office uses to aid in applying the “meaningful use” standard required by law:

1)   Put the patient and their interests in the center

2)   Focus on the outcomes, not the technology

3)   Foster innovation using the market

4)   Watch out for the little guy (interoperability)

5)   Monitor and adapt (be evidence based)

If you’d like to add input or join the conversation, Mostashari recommends engaging on the recently launched Federal Advisory Community blog.

The conference concluded with Federal CTO, Aneesh Chopra, delivering a striking keynote, which you can watch below.  A firm believer in the power of participation and collaboration, Chopra was proud to be a part of the conference announcement of the “Health 2.0 Developer Challenge”, a project to bring together people with relevant expertise to work together on Health 2.0 projects.

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On June 2nd, the e-Health Policy Institute hosted an event on Capitol Hill titled “Implementing Health Information Technology: Meaningful Data = Meaningful Use.” Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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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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