United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-02-14 monographic deposited born digital 107 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD/HEHS-97-67 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67 P0b002ee180385641 f:ns97067 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67 NSIAD/HEHS-97-67 Health care services Telecommunication Medical records Health care cost control Medical information systems Health services administration Patient care services Strategic information systems planning Interagency relations Medicare Program Georgia Texas North Carolina DOD TRICARE Program Medicaid Program National Information Infrastructure Program USDA Distance Learning and Medical Link Grant Program Theater Army Medical Management Information System DOD Military Health Services System Army Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support System Other Written Product NSIAD HEHS

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the steps that the federal government needs to take to realize the full potential of telemedicine and achieve cooperation with the private sector, focusing on: (1) the scope of public and private telemedicine investments; (2) telemedicine strategies among the Department of Defense (DOD), other federal agencies, and the private sector; (3) potential benefits that the public and private sectors may yield from telemedicine initiatives; and (4) barriers facing telemedicine implementation.<p/>GAO found that: (1) collectively, the public and private sectors have funded hundreds of telemedicine projects that could improve, and perhaps change significantly, how health care is provided in the future; (2) however, the amount of the total investment is unknown; (3) 9 federal departments and independent agencies invested at least $646 million in telemedicine projects from fiscal years 1994 to 1996; (4) DOD is the largest federal investor with $262 million and considered a leader in developing this technology; (5) state-supported telemedicine initiatives are growing; (6) estimates of private sector involvement are impossible to quantify because most cost data is proprietary and difficult to separate from health care delivery costs; (7) opportunities exist for federal agencies to share lessons learned and exchange technology, but no governmentwide strategy exists to ensure that the maximum benefits are gained from the numerous federal telemedicine efforts; (8) the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine (JWGT) is the first mechanism structured to help coordinate federal programs; (9) however, its efforts to develop a federal inventory, a critical starting point for coordination, have been hampered by definitional issues and inconsistent data; (10) in addition, DOD and other federal departments do not have strategic plans to help guide their telemedicine investments, assess benefits, and foster partnerships; (11) telemedicine is an area in which public and private benefits converge; (12) many anecdotal examples demonstrate how telemedicine could improve access and quality to medical care and reduce health care costs; (13) however, comprehensive, scientific evaluations have not been completed to demonstrate the cost benefits of telemedicine; (14) the expansion of telemedicine is hampered by legal and regulatory, financial, technical, and cultural barriers facing health care providers; (15) some barriers are too broad and have implications too far-reaching for any single sector to address; (16) telemedicine technology today is not only better than it was decades ago, it is becoming cheaper; (17) consequently, the questions facing telemedicine today involve not so much whether it can be done but rather where investments should be made and who should make them; (18) the solution lies in the public and private sectors' ability to jointly devise a means to share information and overcome barriers; and (19) the* https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67.pdf GAO/NSIAD/HEHS-97-67 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-HEHS-97-67 Other Written Product GAO/NSIAD/HEHS-97-67; Telemedicine: Federal Strategy Is Needed to Guide Investments; Health care services Telecommunication Medical records Health care cost control Medical information systems Health services administration Patient care services Strategic information systems planning Interagency relations Medicare Program Georgia Texas North Carolina DOD TRICARE Program Medicaid Program National Information Infrastructure Program USDA Distance Learning and Medical Link Grant Program Theater Army Medical Management Information System DOD Military Health Services System Army Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support System Title 28 Section 2671 Title 28 Section 2671note Title 28 Section 2679 28 U.S.C. 2671 28 U.S.C. 2671note 28 U.S.C. 2679 Public Law 104-104