USF’s Rural Healthcare Connect Offers Network Operator Opportunities

The rural healthcare portion of the Universal Service Fund offers some significant opportunities for rural network operators and their communities.

The USF Rural Healthcare Connect program pays up to 65% of network costs for rural healthcare providers seeking to gain high-speed connectivity to support applications such as electronic health records and telemedicine. Electronic health records have been an important focus for healthcare providers seeking to qualify for economic incentives by making “meaningful use” of IT and network resources. As a result many healthcare providers are seeking higher-bandwidth connections so that they can exchange electronic health records -- including large image files such as x-rays and MRIs -- with providers in other locations. In some states high-speed infrastructure also may support telemedicine -- using videoconferencing and/or other electronic tools to enable a patient to be evaluated by a remotely-located doctor, eliminating the need for the patient to travel to see the doctor.