Legal & Financial

The Economic Stimulus Package – Improving Healthcare Technology and Delivery

With widespread news coverage of our ailing U.S. economy, the recent $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress this year has dominated headlines. But you may not realize that $59 billion of the total package will be allocated to healthcare — a linchpin of our economy. What impact can we expect our tax dollars to have on the critically important U.S. healthcare system?

“The recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will provide funds for improving healthcare technology and delivery across the nation,” explains Patrick McNees, PhD, FAAN, associate dean for research in the UAB School of Health Professions. “As it relates to technology and aging, the stimulus package involves a push for healthcare improvements on three major fronts.”

Electronic Medical Records

The ARRA will provide billions of dollars in funds to create an electronic medical record for every patient in the U.S. “This initiative is so important because once we have an electronic medical record in place, we can better understand where we may have gaps in healthcare delivery.” Also, the portability and accessibility of electronic records have the potential to improve the quality of patient care at every level of the system.

Establishing Broadband Access in All Areas

While most densely populated areas of the country now have broadband (and therefore Internet ) access, many rural areas lack this critically important technology. The ARRA will allocate funds to establish broadband technology in all parts of the U.S. — rural or otherwise.

“Having broadband technology — particularly in rural areas — will allow healthcare providers to leverage expertise and technology in small hospitals and nursing homes,” explains Dr. McNees. “This could improve the quality of care and the level of care across the board. Additionally, this technology could help to lower healthcare costs by allowing patients to receive a higher level of care closer to home.”

Ensuring broadband access nationwide will also enable more older adults to remain in their homes longer as they age. “Aging in place requires the ability to communicate with healthcare providers and others from your home, ideally through the internet,” says Dr. McNees. “If you don’t have this ability, you’ll require an acute care center or a nursing home to provide care for you.”

An emerging future technology — made possible by broadband access v will allow older adults to passively monitor certain health conditions from home. Then, data will be sent electronically to healthcare providers or other support personnel, reducing the need for rural patients to travel long distances for routine monitoring.

Virtual Imaging and Immersive Environments

The ARRA will provide funding for the research and development of applied computer technologies that can treat and prevent health problems and injuries. Using virtual imaging and immersive digital environments, researchers can design computerized environments — mixed with physical objects — that can be used to help treat and prevent a range of health problems.

An immersive digital environment is an artificial, interactive, computer-created scene or “world” in which users can immerse themselves. “For example, using such technology, one might imagine helping individuals reduce their dependence on narcotics for chronic pain,” explains Dr. McNees.

He also stresses the technology holds great potential for helping older adults increase their physical abilities and lower their risk of injuries from falls or incorrect movements. “As people age, there is a natural decrease in performance abilities,” Dr. McNees observes. “Using virtual imaging and immersive environments, we’re able to teach people more adaptive ways of moving and behaving to lower their risk of injury during everyday activities.”

Dr. McNees explains that this technology can perform a complete, sophisticated analysis of an individual’s movement. “By understanding these nuances of movement, we’re can then develop highly personalized intervention packages. This technology enables us to focus on pre-habilitation instead of rehabilitation. We can now be focused on predicting the likelihood of injuries and preventing them — instead of rehabilitating a patient after an injury has occurred.”