USTelecom recently hosted a Webinar titled “Health Care over Broadband: How Telemedicine can improve the Delivery of Health Care Services and its Role in the Health Care Debate”.  I co-hosted the presentation with Jon Linkous, Executive Director of the American Telemedicine Association.  Here is a quick recap of the topics we discussed…

Tom Soroka, VP Engineering & Technology at USTelecom kicked off the session by introducing the Internet as an “interconnected network which stretches across the globe”.

I then covered a few priorities to keep in mind when we’re discussing health care policy from a legislative perspective. I emphasized the importance of technology, infrastructure, standards, and policy when it comes to addressing the need for health care delivery in rural America.  In addition, I shared my views on why I think changes in America’s health care industry need to happen organically – from the bottom up.  Top down mandates are not the solution to today’s health care problems.

I also pointed to my recent study with the Internet Innovation Alliance titled “Advancing Health care Through Broadband: Opening Up a World of Possibilities”. Click here to read the full text of the study which explores how expanded broadband services can enable improved care at a reduced cost for more people.

Next, Jon Linkous provided a snapshot of telemedicine in the U.S. today and defined telemedicine as “a continuum of remote services”. I enjoyed Jon’s breakdown of the interplay between HIT and Telemedicine…. “HIT provides the infrastructure for improved health care, while telemedicine uses HIT in provision of health care”.

Jon concluded the discussion by breaking down the top 10 myths of Telemedicine. He pointed out that telemedicine is not only rural, privacy is not a big problem, and reimbursement is not the key to telemedicine’s future success. 

My takeaways from yesterday’s Webinar include:
• The biggest challenges we face in the implementation of telemedicine and HIT are ….
• A snapshot of the current legislative environment surrounding health care policy.
• What non legal hurdles providers must overcome to deliver the highest quality care.
I hope many of you will watch the archived Webinar by clicking here.  Tune in for upcoming Webinars which include: “Disaster Planning and Emergency Response in our Schools” and “Revitalize Your Network with IP Services”.

Neal Neuberger
President
Health Tech Strategies