You never know just how conferencing technology will play a role in your life.

I’ve joked with family members once or twice about wishing I had the ability to microchip my daughter with her medical information.

She has Down syndrome and along with it a profound speech delay. Her extra chromosome has also brought a variety of medical issues along with it – including asthma, a heart defect and neck and back problems.

Important things for emergency medical professionals to know when they are treating her, and things she’s not yet able to communicate herself.

To this point she hasn’t strayed too far from immediate family, but as she gets older that’s going to change. Even overnight trips with grandparents require writing out extensive information and leaves open the possibility that something will be forgotten.

So the National Broadband Plan’s inclusion of health information technology is something I’m reading with a lot of interest.

And conferencing technologies play a key role in some of the FCC’s (News - Alert) recommendations.

“Video consultation is especially beneficial for extending the reach of under-staffed specialties to patients residing in rural areas, Tribal lands and health professional shortage areas,” the report says.

“Today’s Web and video conferencing services will permit cost effective communication without the need to travel to meet in person.  With the exception of physically examining a patient, online communication tools will facilitate fast and efficient meetings between teams of doctors, or even patient and doctors in some situations,” said Greg Plum (News - Alert), director of business development for the Conference Group.

Video consultations are cited in the report of having the ability to save $1.2 billion annually by just reducing the need to transport patients from correctional facilities or nursing homes to either a physicians’ offices or emergency rooms. It could also reduce the transfer of patients from one emergency room to another.

The report highlights the story of one woman, Beverly, a 49-year-old Massachusetts resident who was driven to her local hospital by a friend. That hospital assessed her symptoms and then activated a video link to Massachusetts General Hospital’s stroke center, 75 miles away.

A specialist with Massachusetts General was able to conduct a neurological examination on Beverly and ordered the administration of tPA, a clot-busting drug which must be administered within the first three hours of stroke onset to be effective.

The tPA was administered and then Beverly was transferred to Massachusetts General, an hour-long ambulance ride. By the time she arrived at the hospital her stroke symptoms had subsided.

For my daughter, increased video conferencing between doctors and hospitals would mean that being out of state doesn’t necessarily mean being limited to doctors unfamiliar with her past care.