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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Panelists Andrew Wilson of the Department of Health & Human Services, Ann Aikin of the CDC, and David Hale from the National Library of Medicine shared these insights:

• Even the government needs to establish relationships, and social media is a good way to do that.
• Every time there is a crisis, health-related agencies have an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient network of people.
• Technology has enabled better communication both among agencies and between the private and public sectors.
• Agencies can now monitor for misinformation and correct it more rapidly and effectively.
• Before a crisis, agencies can identify respected and trusted users who are influential to help spread information.
• Online relationships are key to flattening the process of responding to a crisis, since collaboration is the new reality.

Watch the video below for an example of how government officials used new media (and a sense of humor!) to spread the word about H1N1, which was also discussed at the session.  The video below that is my interview with David Hale where I learned about his work on Pillbox, a new site by NLM and NIH that provides references for pill and dosage information.