Neal Neuberger Bio

A White Paper for the Internet Innovation Alliance by Neal Neuberger, CISSP. President, Health Tech Strategies, LLC

As the United States works to improve the quality of and access to its health care system, it is increasingly clear that expanded broadband service can enable improved care at a reduced cost for more people.

Among the most advanced initiatives using broadband to improve health care is enhanced medical recordkeeping that knits together electronic databases, giving patients and authorized providers instant and centralized access to information such as health histories, treatment regimens and medical images.

Digital records available over high speed networks can reduce waste, improve patient outcomes, and cut costs. Telemedicine applications that enable real-time clinical care involving geographically distant patients and providers can deliver the highest quality care to even the most remote communities. Remote monitoring made possible by broadband can facilitate post-operative care and chronic disease management without hospitalization or institutionalization.

Small pilot projects have produced significant reductions in hospital admissions and the cost of care. A Veterans Administration study of one remote monitoring program showed a 40 percent cut in emergency room visits and a 63 percent reduction in hospital admissions. Penn State University estimated that remote home health monitoring for one group of diabetes patients cut costs for hospital care 69 percent, from almost $283,000 to approximately $87,000 per patient. And a study by economist Robert Litan projected that broadband-based monitoring could cut medical costs for senior citizens by about 30 percent.

As Jon Linkous of the American Telemedicine Association observes: "Broadband Internet access to hospitals is becoming a critical tool in the delivery of medical services." For example:

• The Alaska Federal Healthcare Access Network (AFHCAN) links more than 248 sites including: military installations; Alaska Native health facilities; regional hospitals; small village clinics; and, state of Alaska public health nursing stations for a range of healthcare services using a variety of high-speed broadband services including satellite.
• The Downstate Illinois Regional Telehealth Program uses T1 lines, DSL, and Cable to develop community-institutional partnerships to strengthen local health care capacity through the use of advanced technologies. They provide medical education and training to 52 rural hospitals through videoconferencing, satellite broadcasts and web streaming.
• The 82-site Missouri Telehealth Network provides services in more than 15 different medical specialties, with a majority of the work coming from radiology, mental health, dermatology and cardiology. To date, more than 11,000 interactive video encounters and 57,500 Teleradiology exams have been conducted. The Missouri Telehealth Network uses T1 (Frame Relay) connections to each site to provide dynamic bandwidth allocation for voice, video and data.