Jay H. Sanders, M.D.
President and CEO of The Global Telemedicine Group and
Professor of Medicine (Adjunct) at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Technology has long played a part in medicine — longer than most people probably realize. People now are living longer and better because of technology-based improvements in diagnostics and treatments based on technological advances. New and improved communications technologies are taking these advances to the next step. We can now examine and treat patients where they are, not necessarily where we are. This is possible in large part because of broadband — high-speed Internet — communications.

At its essence, broadband is the conduit by which information, be it educational, diagnostic or therapeutic, is transported from a location where it exists to a location where it is needed. It can be an academic medical center reaching out to assist medical professionals in a rural hospital, or a physician checking in on a patient in his or her home.

Today’s wireless technologies are building upon these gains, particularly in the area of “eHealth.” eHealth is most commonly associated with the ability to reference and use electronic medical records from handheld devices. Because the records are stored electronically, specialists from across the hospital or around the world can reference them. A patient can have just one medical file, accessible to a myriad of doctors who are providing treatment.

Electronic medical records can save lives by ensuring that all involved in the medical profession are working from and sharing the most current information. Similarly, other telemedicine applications lead to better health care. A doctor checking a patient’s vital signs while that patient is at home can get a more accurate sense of blood pressure or pulmonary function if the patient is in his or her daily environment, for example.

The one thing ehealth and telemedicine applications have in common is the need to have digital information immediately accessible, regardless of location. This is made possible by broadband networks.

As we depend more and more on wireless and mobile technologies to deliver better and more affordable medical solutions, it is essential that we have the communications infrastructure that enable their adoption. Good public policy must ensure we have both.

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