| nt Obama is holding an important Health Summit | | | | consultation. There is a widespread understanding |
| at the White House to workshop his plans and | | | | that we need to shift the center of gravity of |
| ideas for health reform with a wide range of | | | | care away from expensive hospitals and clinics, |
| influential stakeholders. Hopefully he will keep his | | | | and back to the home. It is not only cheaper to |
| blackberry switched on because this is now one | | | | treat people at home and online, with less hospital |
| of the emerging new tools commonly used to | | | | bills at thousands of dollars per day, but patients |
| deliver healthcare. President Obama, with his | | | | can also become more involved in their own care. |
| promotion of information technology, broadband | | | | With a single keystroke patient, primary physician, |
| networks and electronic health records, is poised | | | | specialist and home health nurse can be brought |
| to accelerate many positive changes in healthcare, | | | | together. |
| so what goals should be identified for this | | | | Many homes in the US have broadband Internet, |
| Summit? | | | | or cable TV, both of which can be used to deliver |
| Let's look first at some of the current forces for | | | | electronic home care in future. The core |
| change. | | | | infrastructure for healthcare is shifting from bricks |
| The business of eHealth on the Internet is | | | | and mortar to bits and bytes. Companies such as |
| expanding rapidly. Two recent reports from the | | | | Intel are already developing technologies to be |
| Pew Foundation and Harris Interactive have | | | | used in the home for the elderly in particular - for |
| confirmed that 75-80 per cent of United States | | | | the baby boomers. These involve multiple health |
| Internet users utilize the Internet for health | | | | monitoring options - not only to collect obvious |
| information and healthcare - that is around 140 | | | | health data such as blood pressure, weight or |
| million people per year. This is over 65% of the | | | | pulse rates for patients with heart conditions, but |
| entire adult population of the USA - an average of | | | | to monitor patients with Alzheimer's as they |
| 8 million people every day. Not surprisingly those | | | | move throughout their home, undertake survey |
| individuals who are carers, who have chronic | | | | responses from family members via television, |
| illnesses, who have recently been diagnosed with | | | | and as alarm systems for any medical |
| a medical condition or who have broadband | | | | emergency. Telecommunications and cable |
| Internet connections use the Internet for | | | | television companies are the likely future |
| healthcare more commonly than other Internet | | | | infrastructure providers of tomorrow's health |
| users, and their searches for health information | | | | environment as they replace hospital beds with |
| are becoming a regular habit, often several times | | | | homecare accessibility. |
| per month. | | | | So what goals should the summit consider? |
| Business sees the healthcare sector as a | | | | 1. All patients should have access to their |
| particularly attractive industry that will benefit | | | | electronic records and their health information in a |
| from web-based technologies because of its | | | | secure and privacy protected manner, most likely |
| enormous size, inefficiency and information | | | | involving a unique healthcare identifier |
| intensity, and companies like Google, Microsoft, | | | | 2. High quality Internet based healthcare systems |
| Intel and Cisco, as well as the telecommunications | | | | and networks should be further developed, with |
| giants like ATT and Verizon, all have major health | | | | the Internet being recognized as core health |
| plans. Moreover, the healthcare industry is | | | | infrastructure |
| particularly fragmented with a large number of | | | | 3. All health providers must move into the |
| participants, including general practitioners and | | | | Information Age, and be supported and trained to |
| primary care clinicians, specialists, institutions (public | | | | use electronic systems for clinical work |
| and private hospitals and diagnostic companies), | | | | 4. Electronically mediated homecare, as well as |
| health funds, pharmaceutical companies, retail | | | | healthcare prevention and monitoring must |
| pharmacies and, of course, patients. | | | | receive more focus |
| Our population is ageing with "baby-boomers" | | | | 5. Healthcare must become a more collaborative |
| demanding better quality healthcare. They are also | | | | information based industry, with major players |
| determined to have home-based health care, and | | | | from the Information Technology world being |
| will pay to avoid going into nursing homes. At the | | | | recognized as core partners and infrastructure |
| same time employers are trying to reduce the | | | | providers |
| escalating cost of health care. Everyone | | | | This is an exciting time for the health industry, |
| recognizes that the use of electronic medical | | | | and a time when the right decisions can create |
| records is a way of improving the quality of care | | | | very positive health reform to help current and |
| and making patient information more available | | | | future generations of Americans. |
| where it counts, at the time of the doctor-patient | | | | |