NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "Obamacare" may not please everybody, but Americans of all political stripes already benefit from at least one by-product of the new law: innovative health care technologies that make it easier and cheaper to access quality health care.

A key driver for technology creation within Obamacare is the idea of "accountable care," where providers receive financial incentives for delivering high quality care at a lower cost. If the old economic model was to build a hospital and fill it with paying patients, the new model rewards medical professionals for keeping people healthy and out of the building as much as possible.

Accountable care requires that "hospitals defend the perimeter against avoidable admission," said George Pace, a health care industry executive based in North Carolina. "If I'm there because of a heart attack, okay, but it's not okay if it's because I forgot to take my medications. You have to expand the continuum of care into the community and identify and address symptoms, illnesses, and behaviors before they escalate."

That's where technology comes in. Just as doctors and hospitals leverage "physician extenders" such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide a broad range of services, said Pace, "technology extenders" such as mobile telemedicine, real-time collaborative tools and electronic monitoring systems will increasingly be used to maximize the reach of medical professionals, all while lowering costs.

Originally posted here:

Health Care Reform Paving the Way for New Technologies