The NBN could pay for itself “twice over” thanks to multi-billion savings in the health sector, ASX-listed e-health group iSoft believes. Submitting a paper to the NBN Senate Select Committee, iSoft said IT developments unlocked by the NBN may allow for savings of $8-10bn per year in healthcare – adding that the NBN should pave the way for health sector reforms and cuts to “unsustainable” health spending.

“Enabling the reform of the health sector should be a high priority for the NBN,” iSoft states. “Australia’s healthcare system, like those in most developed nations, faces unsustainable increases in spending and a corresponding collapse in the quality and effectiveness of healthcare as ageing populations place more demands on the system.”

According to iSoft’s submission, integrated patient records across the healthcare system could save between $8-10 billion per year – equating to 10% drop in healthcare spending. “This saving would pay twice over for the NBN over its implementation timeframe. Further development in the delivery of healthcare services across Australia cannot be enabled without the foundation of a ‘technology highway’ that provides access to patient information. With healthcare forecast to take up 25% of the NBN’s bandwidth, it is clear that a high-speed network is a critical enabler in connecting healthcare.”

If the health sector did take up 25% of the NBN’s bandwidth as the $43b network is rolled out, “This equates to $10.75 billion in spending over eight years, or $1.34 billion per year over the lifetime of the project – equivalent to 1.5% of the current annual expenditure on healthcare,” the submission notes.

iSoft believes the value of the NBN would be boosted by aligning the rollout with federal government healthcare initiatives such as creating individual electronic health records for every citizen by 2012. Other plans including the creation of ‘Super Clinics’ could also benefit from NBN connectivity, while iSoft said broadband-connected TVs could be used to effectively manage patients remotely. Additional in-home self monitoring and recording equipment could be used alongside video-conferencing with doctors, and could be digitally linked into electronic health records. Electronic prescriptions could boost productivity by freeing up time for GPs and patients alike.

Rural healthcare would be one of the primary beneficiaries of the NBN – and broadband could again slash the cost of care for rural patients, iSoft argues. The biggest problem to date? Different ISPs providing different services in different locations – making rural e-health impossible. In an NBN world, healthcare should not be hindered by choice of ISPs, the submission said. “iSoft suggests that the economic value of broadband in delivering a significantly enhanced healthcare service to rural Australia will support the costs of making it available.”

“The unavailability of a low-cost, fast broadband service is a major impediment in moving healthcare closer to the patient. The NBN will resolve obstacles associated with connecting the healthcare industry and moving towards a new ‘patient centric’ delivery model,” iSoft said.