This week's CTIA conference in Las Vegas hosted a panel on the future of mobile broadband driven “mhealth.” Broadband for America has focused on efforts to use current and emerging broadband technology to improve healthcare across the country, from the doctor to the patient. Innovations in Health IT can save costs, improve access to medical care and even save lives. Here are some highlights from the panel:
 
John Maschenic, Associate Director, Vertical Data Sales, Verizon Wireless: “You’ll start to see third party solutions for patients. I think that will change the way we adopt [Health IT] solutions.” “I don’t think a lot of the hospitals wanted the reforms pushed on them. So, we started seeing a lot of these outside companies looking at how they can address these issues.”

Read more from Maschenic here.
 
Clint McClellan; Sr. Director Bus Dev. Wireless Health; Qualcomm: “These prices will come down. We’re just at the beginning phase. All this just makes too much sense not to happen.”

“We’ll need to focus on rural. I’ve heard horror stories of a patient driving 42 miles for a check-up only to have the doctor say, “You look great, have a nice day.” You could have that visit over a live chat and save time, money and resources.”

Read more from McClellan here.
 
Sandra Elliot, Meridian Health, on how the cost-saving potential of mhealth is only just beginning: “You’re talking about very inexpensive, very efficient technologies, which there are not a lot of out there right now.”
 
Mohi Kaushal, FCC Director of Connected Health: “This technology isn’t rocket science. The question is how do we incentivize it?