Lack of broadband in some areas limits telemedicine

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Lack of broadband service is limiting the deployment of telemedicine services in some places of the US, and not just remote rural areas, some experts say.

Panasonic of North America, while providing Internet-based heart monitoring services for elderly residents of the New York City area, found several places where there were no wired broadband, Wi-Fi or strong mobile signals available, Todd Rytting, CTO for the company, told the Senate Communications Subcommittee on April 21 in a hearing titled "Advancing Telehealth Through Connectivity". The SmartCare monitoring service significantly reduced the numbers of heart patients who had to return to the hospital, but "the biggest problem we faced was the lack of broadband to some of our citizens," Rytting said. Some potential users of the service couldn't get a broadband connection in "downtown New York City," he added. Panasonic experienced the same problems in nearby Newark (NJ) particularly in some large apartment buildings, Rytting said. In many cases, wired broadband wasn't available, and Wi-Fi signals didn't reach the upper floors of high-rise buildings, he said. "What I did not dream of was the unavailability of broadband in urban settings," Rytting said. "To be able to be a heartbeat away from New York City and not be able to get a signal in a structure that had thousands of tenants in it just boggled my mind."

Several members of the Senate Communications Subcommittee focused on rural broadband deployment, with Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) noting that more than half of US rural residents lack access to broadband, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission. Many subcommittee members also noted other problems with deploying telemedicine services, including a lack of coverage for many services by the federal government's Medicare program and a lack of interstate licensing for doctors. A Washington doctor treating a rural Montana patient using telemedicine would need medical licenses in both states, said Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association. While most committee members voiced support for faster deployment of telemedicine, Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) raised questions about the privacy of health records. Congress may need to pass new legislation to require data security practices for telemedicine providers, said Sen Markey.


Lack of broadband in some areas limits telemedicine