AeA Releases 2nd Report Strongly Endorsing eHealth Initiatives
Telemedicine Will Improve Healthcare Access, Reduce Costs, and Save Lives

Washington, DC (November 28, 2007) – AeA today released its second Competitiveness Series report endorsing eHealth, arguing that it will lower costs and enhance the reliability, convenience, and delivery of healthcare. The report, entitled eHealth 201: Designing the Virtual Hospital, provides an analysis of the benefits of telemedicine.

“High tech has a great deal to contribute to improving healthcare delivery and reducing its cost,” said Chris Hansen, President and CEO, AeA. “Telemedicine – the use of advanced technology to provide healthcare services across a distance – holds tremendous opportunity to reduce hospitalizations, better manage chronic disease, and link doctors to patients in rural and isolated areas who might not otherwise receive the care they need.”

The report discusses the findings of several studies that have found dramatic improvements in both cost and delivery of care through the use of such telemedicine applications as remote monitoring systems, videoconferencing, and electronic transmission of X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. One study found that implementing a telemedicine system known as an eICU, or electronic intensive care unit, saw deaths fall 27 percent and the cost per ICU decline by $2,500, or 22 percent, in the first year the system was up.

AeA supports legislation that would:

• Stimulate the deployment of universal broadband by promoting municipal broadband initiatives and by targeting incentives toward rural areas that currently are without broadband access;

• Support the Federal Communication Commission’s plan to invest in broadband infrastructure to enable telemedicine in rural and impoverished areas;

• Increase funding for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth within the Department of Health and Human Services;

• Enact financial incentives to help small- and medium-sized healthcare providers implement EMR and telemedicine systems, including grants, loans, and tax credits for the initial investment in the necessary equipment, software, training, and support;

• Adjust the reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Medicare to include costs associated with EMRs and telemedicine;

• Encourage states to enact cross-licensing agreements that permit medical practitioners to provide services across state lines; and

• Leverage federal and state purchasing power to push for widespread adoption and utilization of EMRs and telemedicine using nationwide interoperable standards.

All installments of the AeA Competitiveness Series can be downloaded for free at: www.aeanet.org/cs.

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About AeA
AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association with 2,500 member companies representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit www.aeanet.org.

This page was last updated on 11/28/07.