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On this committee we are focused on ensuring that cities and towns across the Country have a vibrant and growing Main Street. Small firms, with their innovations and character, create jobs that lead to healthy and sustainable local economies.

As we all know, an essential part of any community are the doctors and nurses who are relied upon in every corner of our country to keep us healthy. But many people forget that these health care professionals are themselves small businesses.

They are relied upon to care for our families, while also taking on the challenge of operating a business. Not only do they face capital challenges, they also face the increasing costs of interacting with insurance companies, larger student loan burdens, and a growing patient population. Challenges such as these have led to a declining physician workforce which has disastrous effects for many Americans in underserved and rural communities.

In fact, by 2030, the Association of American Medical Colleges expects the workforce shortage to expand to over 100,000 doctors nationwide. The greatest need will be for primary care physicians who face the test of caring for every kind of patient and illness. They have become the first – and in many cases – only source of care for millions of Americans.

Luckily, advancements in technology are changing the face of medicine. Like every other industry, health care is undergoing a rapid transformation and these emerging technologies are changing the way we think about health care in this country.

Telemedicine is allowing providers to take appointments over video chat and perform virtual visits with patients many miles away. It’s not only making it easier for patients to access care, it leads to better health outcomes by giving doctors the ability to remotely monitor their patients. In fact, telemedicine services are already being offered at 46 percent of Rural Community Health Centers and we should be expanding their funding to ensure access to care for our rural communities. Other technologies like robots are improving minimally invasive surgeries, allowing for more precision, safety, and a quicker recovery time.

Health information technology, such as electronic health records, is helping providers sort and transfer important health information to specialists that can advise them on treatment.  Technology like this helps doctors and nurses become more efficient, cut costs, and improve quality for their patients. For these technologies to be fully realized, we will need highly skilled physicians, nurses, and even administrators to make our health care system more efficient while still delivering quality care.

Unfortunately, formal curricula in virtual care and telehealth has not been widely incorporated into medical and nursing schools. Despite the availability of simulators and virtual reality to provide the opportunity to train surgeons for procedures without using patients, there are few training programs in this area.

Medical technology advancements provide a great opportunity to expand access to health care and save lives, but the complexity of these technologies requires investments in training programs to upskill medical professionals. If we poorly train - or neglect to train - our health care providers to adapt to new developments in medical devices and practices, we risk negating the potential benefits of this technology and put patients at risk.

This is why we are here today.  It’s clear that this technology has the potential to dramatically alter the industry. But what we need to realize is - if it is done correctly, it can incentivize doctors to open practices in rural areas. It can help nurse practitioners provide the care where physicians are unable and consult with specialists when needed. It can empower those in the home health care space, many of whom are small businesses.

Emerging technologies in health care can be the great equalizer allowing smaller, independent practices to treat more people and cut the cost of doing business.  But to do this we need to ensure proper training. Whether through new and innovative ways of training physicians during school or upskilling nurses as they progress in their careers, providers need this training to avoid confusion and uncertainty in the face of change.