As feds encourage health IT, analysts forecast big increase in telehealth

Politico and The Hill covered various aspects of electronic health records and health care.

Politico: Feds; 'E-Health' Initiative Reaches Out To Patients
In an age of the Web, Wi-Fi and ever-present social media, so-called e-health lags far behind. But federal officials leading the multibillion effort to get doctors and hospitals to use health information technology are now reaching out to patients and families to help them become e-patients. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health information technology at Department of Health and Human Services, and other top health IT officials outlined plans in the February's Health Affairs journal to expand access, promote innovation and ensure privacy while giving patients and families a bigger role in their care (Kenen, 2/11).

The Hill: Analysis Predicts Spike In Telehealth
Efforts to curb rising healthcare costs will cause the use of telehealth technology to spike, a new analysis predicted.  IMS Research, which studies the electronics industry, forecast a nearly sixfold rise in the number of telehealth patients over the next five years. About 1.3 million U.S. patients will use communications technology to interact with doctors by 2017, the firm said (Viebeck, 2/8).