By Ron Gutman <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
FORTUNE -- Our country is facing a health care crisis. States are divided on Obamacare and Medicaid, and new legislation is not making any clear progress in increasing access to affordable health care. According to findings by the Urban Institute, nearly two out of every three uninsured low-income individuals some 9.7 million people who would have qualified for subsidized coverage under Obamacare might not receive it next year because their states have not expanded Medicaid. Also, according to a study by The Association of American Medical Colleges, we'll be facing a shortage of more than 90,000 doctors in the next five years. <\/p>\n
While there have been a lot of gloom and doom articles about these significant health care challenges we're grappling with, there has been surprisingly little talk about the incredible technology solutions that are being developed specifically to combat these issues. Legislation is slow, but technology is fast. And there are many ways that we can begin to increase access to affordable care with technology. <\/p>\n
A doctor's time is increasingly scarce and expensive. The only scalable, near-term solution is to enable physicians to be more efficient and manage more patients, while empowering them to improve the quality of care they can provide. <\/p>\n
What if doctors used powerful mobile applications to remotely track their patients' treatment compliance and progress? What if they could provide patients with remote access to their expertise, or to other medical knowledge they trust? What if they kept in- person office visits to the time they're really required for longer, in-depth consultations? <\/p>\n
MORE:Health apps don't save people, people do <\/p>\n
Health care providers should be making use of new mobile technologies that will empower physicians to become \"coaches of care,\" and facilitate significantly higher quality of care in every patient interaction. Instead of people waiting for weeks or months to get a rushed appointment where they receive second rate care, health care facilities can support the wide adoption of technologies that will enable doctors to remotely connect, monitor, and interact with hundreds, even thousands of patients. <\/p>\n
And the technology behind this is not just conceptualit's here. Forget flat screen televisions and laptop computers without a doubt, our mobile smartphones and wireless tablets are the most powerful devices we own. With Google (GOOG) reporting an astonishing 1.5 million new Android devices activated every day, the future of health care truly is in the palm of our hands. <\/p>\n
There are already some incredible startups developing mobile products that facilitate more efficient (and more economical) delivery of care. While these products, some of which are still in the early stages of development, won't replace or automate a doctor's job, they are great precursors for fostering a more transparent doctor-patient relationship. <\/p>\n
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