Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Deficient telecommunications infrastructure limits growth of telehealth

Just What the Doctor Ordered: Telehealth Poised for Growth: “Rural healthcare providers (HCP) continue to suffer from limited access to broadband speeds necessary to fulfill their rapidly expanding public and private Internet network needs vital for telehealth communications with patients and HCPs,” said Tim Koxlien, founder and CEO of Rural Health Telecom. “Upgrading rural health care provider broadband networks will dramatically enhance their ability to implement new telemedicine technologies and increase access to electronic medical records. This will ultimately enable them to better serve patients through streamlined operational efficiencies, expanded patient service access, reduced costs and improved quality of care.”

Koxlien also noted that high equipment installation costs and a workforce deficit of trained IT personnel as two challenges facing telecom accessibility. “Many local service providers are reluctant or unwilling to expand into these underserved markets because of the costs associated with designing and implementing rural networks, [and a] lack of funding,” Koxlien said.

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