[RTC List] Rural broadband and healthcare

[N Coyne]

Rural broadband as a method to improve access to health care.

http://www.strategiccommunicationsofkansas.com/RuralBroadbandTestimony.pdf

As cited in Health Data Management - http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/


Nicole Coyne
Systems Analyst
Humboldt County

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Statement of Jay Maxwell

President, Pixius

Wichita, Kansas

jmaxwell2 at pixius.com

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services;

Notice of Meeting

Rapid City, South Dakota

June 9, 2009

Thank you for allowing me to appear today and to participate in this
meeting. I

commend our former Governor, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of HHS, for
convening this forum.

President Obama and Secretary Sebelius have made healthcare reform a major
priority

for the Administration. In rural America, the distances involved and the
lack of specialized

services compound all of the healthcare problems we face as a nation. There
is a major disparity

in the quality of healthcare services provided in rural America as compared
to urban America.

Those of us who live in rural America should not have to leave our family
and our home to

receive adequate medical attention. Our young people are leaving rural
America because of the

lack of critical services, including healthcare.

We must maximize the use of modern technology to bridge the urban-rural
divide in

America and bring health care to rural areas. Broadband technology can go a
long way to

bringing healthcare services to rural America.

Let me explain how the use of broadband can bring healthcare services to the
entire

country.

Remote disease management is a new and effective way to measure and monitor
health

status in the comfort of a patients living situation, and to give physicians
and nurses access to

medical information right away so they can quickly identify any changes that
need to be

addressed. This method of measuring and monitoring health status is
interactive, easy to use,

affordable, and can provide vital health information to not only the
clinical care team but the

patient’s family as well.

The goal of remote disease management is to keep senior citizens in their
own homes as

long as possible and out of nursing and long-term care facilities, as well
as to minimize

hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and scheduled physician visits. In
short, technology is

being used to improve the quality of life and reduce the nation’s healthcare
burden.

However, none of this is possible without access to a quality high-speed
broadband

Internet connection. While this access is common in urban and suburban
areas, it is almost a

luxury in rural America. Is it a coincidence that rural America is also an
area that is unserved or

underserved by medical facilities and practioners? Rural America is an area
with a population

that is aging and placing increased demands on scarce healthcare resources.

Ironically, America knows where the aging live and where healthcare
resources exist,

but does not know with any degree of accuracy where quality high-speed
broadband Internet

service is provided. Before we can connect the country we need to know with
greater accuracy

who currently has coverage. In conjunction with strategic healthcare
initiatives, President

Obama has called for significant improvements in the availability of
broadband Internet service

in rural America. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides
funding to identify

where broadband access is and is not available. I urge HHS and all federal
Departments to work

together to determine in greater detail, who has service and who needs
service. By doing this you

will pave the way toward a more effective means of delivering healthcare to
rural America.

The economies of rural communities and the lifestyle associated with rural
communities

are strong barriers to recruiting and retaining physicians in rural America.
Salary is often stated

as a barrier to recruitment. A study in 2007 by LocumTenens indicates that
on average, incomes

for rural doctors do not differ significantly from those in urban areas.

In Kansas, 29 percent of the population is classified as rural. Physicians
in Kansas are

concentrated in urban areas with only 4 % of physicians being located in
areas that are classified

as rural. Since the providers and services are not located where the need
exists, we need to take

a different approach to healthcare delivery.

In South Dakota, the most remote areas of the State are the nine Sioux
Indian

Reservations. The health statistics on the Reservations resemble those of a
third world country.

The Reservations must be a high priority for broadband.

Remote disease management is one effective solution, but it will only be
effective if

patients in rural areas have access to a quality high-speed broadband
Internet connection.

Funding for the improvement of Internet access in rural areas is included in
the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

ARRA funds that will be administered by the Department of Agriculture’s
Rural Utility

Services (USDA-RUS) are targeted toward telemedicine programs and broadband
programs in

rural America. Funds that will be administered by the National
Telecommunications and

Information Administration (NTIA) address broadband programs for rural
America.

We urge HHS to coordinate to the maximum extent possible with both USDA and
NTIA

to maximize the use of broadband funds with an eye to improving rural health
care. Pixius

Communications is committed to providing quality high-speed Internet service
in unserved and

underserved areas. We understand the unique challenges of communicating in
rural America.

Through partnerships with leaders in the delivery of remote disease
management, we use modern

technology to bridge the urban-rural divide in America and bring health care
to rural areas. We

are available to assist HHS in any way possible as you seek practical
solutions to the challenge

of extending health care in a uniform manner throughout all of the United
States.

Thank you.

Pixius is a Kansas based company that specializes in broadband communication
in rural

area. www.pixius.com
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