Equitable Healthcare Requires Digital Inclusion

On March 11, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society hosted a discussion about collaboration, funding, and policy considerations around broadband, digital inclusion, and healthcare. Benton Opportunity Fund Fellow Sara Raza shared her new issue brief, Bridging the Broadband Health Gap, followed by short presentations from panelists working to support digital equity and healthcare stakeholders. High-speed internet access impacts whether people can access care via telehealth, how patients connect with providers online, whether patients and providers can use tools like remote patient monitoring, and how they manage chronic conditions. Bridging the Broadband Health Gap, published jointly by Benton and Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, highlights how access to and use of broadband can impact access to healthcare, quality of care, and health outcomes. Raza highlights how broadband access is a “super” social determinant of health, one that intersects with and impacts other more traditionally recognized social determinants of health—such as access to food, housing, and transportation.