PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD Telehealth solutions, which equip doctors to communicate and collaborate with other medical providers, are providing health care professionals and patients with a new tool to combat sickness and disease.
In addition, telehealth solutions bring experts to rural areas or poverty-stricken regions, to parts of the country without access to medical providers, and to districts hard-hit by manmade or natural disaster. In fact, communication and collaboration are ranked as the most promising route for near-term transformation of the health care profession, according to "Health of Nations," a 2011 report by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) strategic consultancy and Princeton Survey Research Associates International, which surveyed more than 100 senior leaders from 16 nations.
In fact, 65 percent of respondents said the efficient exchange of information and expertise to diagnose and treat patients had high potential, and 35 percent said patients receiving services via telehealth held high potential within the next five years, the report said. The most important components of communication and collaboration include sharing electronic data, including biometric information and diagnostic images; person-to-person collaboration; clinical training and references; and information and communications technologies (ICT), according to the study.
"The most promising path begins with connecting clinicians and improving collaboration for patient care as well as public health practices. The second phase in the nationwide health transformation journey can be widespread adoption of telehealth clinical services for patients," the report said. "Within the next decade, it’s entirely possible to imagine a range of telehealth-enabled health practices and services. Innovators have achieved significant advances with medical and information technologies to support direct patient care."
Datamonitor said the telemedicine industry in North America is expected to reach $6.1 billion by 2012, that's up from 2010 revenues of about $2.4 billion, eWEEK reported.
The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Medicare incentive program for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) is, in part, spurring this surge in demand. Under the program, which went into effect earlier this year as part of the federal government's extensive overhaul of health care and its use of technology to cut costs and improve service, IT vendors must modify their health care platforms to take advantage of the systems' potential savings.
ACOs—which are groups of health care companies that partner to coordinate care for Medicare patients—earn incentives based on positive outcomes such as patient longevity or containment of a condition such as hypertension or diabetes. They must prove, through tracking and analysis, that they have achieved these positive outcomes. Under the new Medicare Shared Savings Program, providers of all sizes—ranging from solo practitioners to large hospitals, from laboratories and suppliers to long-term care facilities—now are accountable for quality of patient care, and must share data on their patients' treatment.
In February, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) sent a six-page letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the HHS, requesting that the department waive five regulatory restrictions that, as they are worded today, would bar ACOs from using telemedicine services to coordinate patient care, save money and improve patient outcomes, according to the ATA.
“The practice of dermatology heavily relies on patient history and visual examination to make a diagnosis, both facilitated by advancements in technology that allow for high-quality care through telemedicine,” said Ronald L. Moy, MD, FAAD, president of the AADA. “With comprehensive patient information and clear images, the dermatologist can often make a diagnosis at a distance and advise the local doctor how to care for the patient, keeping patients out of high-cost care sites and allowing patients access to care that may have otherwise seemed unattainable.”
Other organizations and industries, including the technology sector, veterans' organizations and the communications industry, are lobbying the government, as well. With proven pilots around the world already addressing security, bandwidth, patient concerns and some medical professionals' hesitation, the benefits seen by both patients and providers are expected to counter any who are less enthusiastic about embracing telehealth solutions.
#CloudForum 2012: “Spring Edition” on May 24 @ Utrecht, Netherlands. Don’t miss keynote of #IBM's Fiona Cullen http://t.co/yKHRMhTw [Dutch]Blog Post: #Cloud industrializes #ERP with IBM Lifecycle as a Service (LCaaS) for SAP Solution http://t.co/w0GoaY6z #thoughtsoncloudGood Morning Europe!That is it from Asia-Pacific! Over to #Europe!IBM Impact 2012 in June at multiple cities in #India >> Mumbai, Bangalore & Delhi. Details: http://t.co/rjnqO137 #IBMImpactCustomWare & Australia-based GLiNTECH collaborates to deliver IBM Cast Iron #cloud integration services http://t.co/Q2tEhdQN #ibmcloudBlog post: IBM discloses #SmartCloud advances & its rapid adoption http://t.co/xsl54fYx via @ToolsJournal #ibmcloudIBM's Vamsicharan Mudiam will keynote @cloudconnect_in on May 24 in Bengaluru, #India. View his profile: http://t.co/FwA5teCm #CloudConnectJapan-based Okasan Securities running on #ibmcloud adopts "bulletin board system for disaster recovery" http://t.co/aujlDcJo [Japanese]IBM builds smart tech center in Hainan, #China to develop cloud computing & the "Internet of Things" technologies http://t.co/lxtz3I2b
Like us on Facebook 
Follow us on Twitter 
Get the Smarter Tech Newsletter 
Register to view the archived "Data Center Optimization Techniques: Stop Wasting Time & Money" eSeminar
Register Now > 
