Yesterday I attended an MHT on Health IT and the cloud. There are a couple of takeaways. 

First, and no surprise here, cost reductions are what is likely to drive adoption of cloud technologies by hospitals. But, privacy and security concerns are going to make the rate of adoption very slow. 

Second, and I think more interesting, there were three early stage health care IT companies that did what MHT refers to as “fast pitches”. One had a technology for storing and sharing images (such as MRI scans) across practice groups etc. Another was using on-line games (think Farmville) to deliver enhanced healthcare. The first game was aimed at improving weight loss. The third was providing on line video plus data interactive consultation between patient and doctor. 

The thing that struck me is that every one of these companies will be affected directly by the rules and regulations to be promulgated under the National Broadband Plan. 

Chapter 10 of the Plan is devoted to health care. The specific recommendations of this part of the plan are that Congress and various three letter agencies (1) create appropriate incentives for e-care utilization, (2) modernize regulation to enable health IT adoption, (3) unlock the value of data by establishing common standards and protocols for sharing administrative, research, and clinical data and providing consumers access to – and control over – all their digital health care data, and (4) ensure sufficient connectivity for health care delivery locations.

The three letter agencies that are responsible for promulgating rules to implement the recommendations include: FCC, HHS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FDA, and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information (ONC). 

The regulations will directly affect at least the following (1) health IT, (2) e-care (the electronic exchange of information – data, images, and video -- to aid in the practice of medicine and advanced analytics), (3) electronic health records, (4) telehealth (like e-care but including non-clinical practices such as nursing call centers), and (5) mobile health (the use of mobile devices to support e-care).

The big rule making push has started. As I have mentioned elsewhere, there will be in excess of 60 hearings in the next six months on these and other topics. The rulemaking that will result from these hearings will have a profound effect on health care technology for the next decade at least. It will determine which technologies are pursued and which are not. It may well determine the success or failure of many start-up tech companies. It will create all kinds of new opportunities for start-ups and for investors.

At the risk of stating the obvious: If you are an entrepreneur or a VC investing in this space you need to be current on these activities. 

BTW, there is similar, and equally significant, regulatory activity coming up under the Plan in the privacy, energy, education, and security spaces.