Addressing broadband to improve access to telehealth
Reliable broadband is essential for telehealth, including for rural communities.
Access to reliable high-speed internet is essential for health care access. In rural communities, more than one in five households (PDF) do not have reliable access to internet service. This keeps people from using telehealth.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is one of four partner organizations participating in the Telehealth Broadband Pilot Program. The project team works with communities to understand if they have adequate internet access. Partners install small internet testing devices called “pods”.
The devices monitor the internet connection and test how well it works. Partners install the devices in locations such as health care clinics, schools, city halls, and businesses. The more places where communities can measure internet access, the better they can map and address the gaps in internet access.
As stated by the project manager: “The greatest challenge we face in solving this problem is that while a county, on average, might have strong internet service, many neighborhoods, streets, and homes are left without reliable internet. The Broadband Pilot Program measures internet speed for both home internet and cellular service."
“Many neighborhoods, streets and homes are left without reliable internet.”
In one town in Texas, people couldn’t access the internet at a certain point every day. The device helped to identify the exact time and duration of this issue. People in the community shared this information with their internet service provider to identify and solve the problem. In another town, people reported that their internet connection was slow. The device confirmed this observation. They shared this information with the internet service provider and showed that they were not getting the service they expected.
"High speed internet is essential [for using telehealth] and needs to be improved.”
The goal of the Telehealth Broadband Pilot Program is to “expose and begin addressing the digital divide in some of these areas and understand if areas are underserved…high speed internet is essential [for using telehealth] and needs to be improved.”