Advancements in telemedicine have facilitated access to accurate and timely patient care data, through Electronic Health Records (EHRs). EHRs give providers relevant information for individual patients where and when it is needed, while helping researchers learn more from the aggregate experience of all patients. EHRs have been shown to reduce redundant and costly medical tests. To maximize their impact, they must be linked and accessible over high-speed networks.
Improvements in video conferencing are enabling remote diagnostics and consultations, which means less time wasted in waiting rooms for simple visits, better care for the rural poor and home-based patients.
Robust broadband networks allow for real-time imaging transmissions, so the best specialists in the world can help providers with their toughest cases or offer immediate second opinions on MRIs, CT scans or X-Rays.
“Our compilation of research shows that these benefits and many others, as well as patients, doctors and hospitals will need faster, more reliable and more secure broadband connections,” said Neal Neuberger, President, Health Tech Strategies, LLC and author of the research. “The critical prerequisite to success for growing small regional e-health programs into a national healthcare agenda is to bring high-speed broadband to every corner of America. The long-term goal is an e-enabled healthcare environment where many current care delivery and management processes are automated.”
The 17-page study provides a comprehensive review of the literature about telemedicine and e-health, and notes:
* Remote home health monitoring for a single group of diabetes patients cut costs for hospital care by 69 percent according to a Penn State University study.
* A Veterans Association study of remote monitoring of patients showed a 40 percent cut in emergency room visits.
* 30 percent of all hospital, out-patient and drug expenses could be saved from remote monitoring for the chronically ill, according to the Kaufman Foundation.
“Continued advances in telemedicine will require adjustments in federal, state and private sector policies to encourage deployment of the broadband network these technologies rely upon,” said Larry Irving, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance. “The IIA’s summary of research shows that if we can close America’s digital divide in broadband, we will also make important progress in closing the divide in healthcare as well.”
The IIA urges Congress to establish a National Commission on Telemedicine that would design a program to accelerate the development of telemedicine; provide financial incentives, including supportive insurance reimbursement, for the universal embrace of telemedicine by medical institutions and practitioners; and remove regulatory and statutory barriers to telemedicine programs.
