Telemedicine getting short shrift in Congress' health care reforms

New digital and mobile technologies could help improve health care and cut costs for patients, but health experts say these services are not often covered by private insurance plans. "We need to use technology to change the organizational structure of health care," Darrell West, vice president of the Brookings Institution, said at a recent panel discussion at the Washington-based think tank. Telemedicine, a developing area in clinical medicine, uses technology to do things like transfer medical information electronically and have medical consultations or examinations from remote locations. The health-care bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee contains some provisions for telemedicine, but West said in an interview that the bill "does not go far enough." West said telemedicine services need to be more widely available to the public no matter what kind of health reform Congress approves. "There needs to be policy changes that recognize the virtues of telemedicine," West said.