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ADVISORY: CTIA-The Wireless Association® Hosts a Technology and Policy Forum on mHealth Solutions for America’s Chronic Care Crisis

June 17, 2009

Medical and Policy Experts to discuss mobile wireless solutions for reducing the cost of treating chronic disease in America

As President Barack Obama recently noted, “The crushing cost of healthcare causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds.”  In the U.S., the total annual cost of the U.S. healthcare system is $2.2 trillion and accounts for about 16 percent of our gross domestic product.  Despite our high spending, the Commonwealth Fund says that the “U.S. now ranks last out of 19 countries on a measure of mortality amenable to medical care, falling from 15th as other countries raised the bar on performance.”  

America is at a crossroads on its healthcare spending and the increasing costs are a major reason why the President and Congress are working to find the answer now.  But a significant part of the solution is something that more than 270 million Americans use daily – it’s their mobile wireless services. 

Wireless technology is reshaping the healthcare landscape in America and around the world.  From remote monitoring and accessing critical health information on the go, to creating personal channels of communications between healthcare providers and patients, mobile wireless technologies and applications are improving healthcare services across the board regardless of geographic location, race, age, gender or disability.   

For example, if patients suffering from chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease agreed to have their doctor monitor them remotely via mobile wireless applications, (i.e. monitor patients’ health and track and guide self-care beyond the doctors’ offices), we would save $21.1 billion per year by reducing emergency care, hospitalization and nursing home costs.  This capability will allow the millions of Americans living in remote, rural areas to visit the best doctors’ offices in the country, eliminating healthcare disparities based on geographic location and economic disparities.  Making healthcare more personal and individualized is expected to reduce medical errors, improve preventive healthcare and significantly improve the medical community’s ability to resolve epidemics.  Mobile wireless solutions are a part of the consumer-focused healthcare movement and the wave of the future. 

What:   Congressional Members, Obama Administration Officials and medical and policy experts discuss the mobile medical applications already being deployed, and the tremendous cost savings mHealth solutions can provide for healthcare reform.

When:  Wednesday, June 24th from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EDT)

Where:  The Capitol Visitor Center – U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Room SVC-201-200

Who:   Keynote remarks will be given by: 

• U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA, 9th District)
• Eric J. Topol, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, West Wireless Health Institute; Chief Academic Officer, Scripps Health

Panel I:  Innovating Through Healthcare Reform:  The Mobile Solution

• Patricia N. Mechael, PhD, MHS, mHealth and Telemedicine Advisor, Millennium Villages Project, Earth Institute at Columbia University – Facilitator
• Dan Fletcher, Ph.D, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Jonathan Javitt, M.D., MPH, CEO, Telcare
• Justin Sims, CEO, Voxiva
• Richard J. Katz, M.D., Director, Division of Cardiology and Director, Cheney Cardiovascular Institute, The George Washington University Hospital
• Jay Bernhardt, M.D., Director, Center for National Health Marketing, Centers for Disease Control
• Jonathan S. Reiner, M.D., Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, The George Washington University Hospital and Professor, Medicine, The George Washington University Medical Center

Panel II:  Policy Solutions – Keeping Pace with Technology Innovation

• U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN, 5th District) – Facilitator
• Darrell M. West, Ph.D., Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution, co-author of Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era (Brookings Institution Press, 2009)
• Daniel Ballon, Ph.D., Senior Policy Fellow, Technology Studies, Pacific Research Institute
• Brian Smedley, Ph.D, Vice President, Health Policy Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Dan Carucci, M.D., MSc, Ph.D, Vice President for Global Health, UN Foundation

Media are invited to attend.   To RSVP, contact Amy Storey at astorey@ctia.org or 202-736-3207.

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CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org