Sep
15
2009

Workshop: Health Care

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
Washington, DC

The goal of this workshop is to gather information concerning how and where broadband networks are deployed to provide telehealth services throughout the nation. Specifically, we will identify both the types of health care facilities and areas that have adequate connectivity to telemedicine broadband networks and where connectivity remains lacking. In addition, workshop participants will be encouraged to provide examples of successful telehealth programs and will be asked to identify whether telehealth diagnosis and treatment is covered under medical insurance. Finally, there will be a public safety component of the workshop seeking information how to ensure secure access to electronic medical records and coordination between federal, regional, and local emergency responders, particularly during public health emergencies, disasters or other large-scale events. Information and data obtained in this workshop will enhance the Commission’s understanding of the barriers facing the health care community in accessing broadband telehealth connectivity as the Commission develops the National Broadband Plan.

Webcast

Topics

The following are some of the preliminary topics that will be covered at this workshop. If you would like to discuss any other topics, please send us your suggestions.
  • What benefits can broadband bring to healthcare providers? To patients?
  • Do facilities in the health care industry have adequate access to broadband?
  • Are there particular types of health care facilities that are more likely to lack adequate access to broadband, and if so, what are those types? Why are they likely to lack adequate access?
  • Do different types of health care facilities require different connectivity speeds or have different infrastructure needs? What are the differences?
  • Are there particular areas of the country where health care facilities are more likely to lack adequate access to broadband? What are the causes of such inadequate access?
  • In what ways has the universal service Rural Health Care Program, including the Rural Health Care Pilot Program, increased broadband access to health facilities?
  • Have recipients of such funding altered the way they have delivered medical services or the medical services they provide?
  • To what extent do health insurance plans currently cover telemedicine diagnoses and treatments?
  • How can broadband facilitate efficient, effective, and secure access to medical records? To the extent that greater safeguards are required, how can they be developed and implemented?
  • What benefits can broadband bring to federal, regional, and local emergency responders? Do they have the connectivity and coordination they need, and if not, where and why not?
  • What is the cost of deploying additional broadband infrastructure to these areas, facilities, and responders?

Agenda

1:30 pm Panel Session One: CONNECTIVITY
(90 minutes: 5 minutes from each panelist followed by questions from FCC moderating panel and audience)
  • Panelists: 
  • Douglas Van Houweling, President and CEO, Internet2 
  • Scot J. Eberle, CEO, FiberUtilities Group LLC 
  • Dale Alverson, Professor of Pediatrics and Regents’ Professor, University of New Mexico School of Medicine 
  • John Clarey, Chairman, National Medical Wireless Broadband Alliance 
  • Raju Prasannappa, Chief Technologist, Harris Healthcare Solutions 
2:45 pm Break
 
3:00 pm
Panel Session Two: INVESTMENT AND USAGE 
(90 minutes: 5 minutes from each panelist followed by questions from FCC moderating panel and audience)
  • Panelists:
  • Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer, Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • Dr. Kaveh Safavi, MD, JD, Vice President and Global Lead Health Practice, Internet Business Solutions Group - Healthcare, Cisco
  • Protima Advani, Practice Manager, IT Insights Program, the Advisory Board Company
  • Dr. Karen Rheuban, MD, Senior Associate Dean for CME and External Affairs Medical Director, Office of Telemedicine University of Virginia; President, American Telemedicine Association
  • Nina M. Antoniotti, R.N., M.B.A., Ph.D., Program Director, Marshfield Clinic TeleHealth Network
4:20 pm Closing Statements/Adjournment

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