Saturday, February 11, 2012

IOM to Examine Telehealth

An Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel is going to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. healthcare system. The panel to be chaired by Karen Rheuban, M.D, Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director of the University of Virginia Office of Telemedicine, will discuss the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals to extend the reach of scarce resources.

Topics to be discussed include:

The increasing role that policies have played to promote or delay the use of telehealth and the consumer acceptance of telehealth

Discussion on the current evidence base for telehealth including available data and gaps in data

Discussions on how technological developments including mhealth, electronic ICUs, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices in conjunction with the push for EHRs is changing the delivery of healthcare in rural and urban environments

Discussions on what actions HHS can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve healthcare outcomes while controlling costs in the current healthcare environment

The proceedings from the meeting will be summarized in a final report. For more information and meeting schedule, contact Samantha Robotham at (202) 334-3822 or email srobotham@nas.edu.