Will 4G Catalyze Rural Telemedicine?

By John Pulley

| May 4, 2012

Areas that are least accessible to high-speed Internet access are the ones that most need telemedicine to connect patients with specialists in bigger cities.

Wireless 4G networks might be the best way to deliver telemedicine in rural areas, even better than wired broadband, a rural practitioner said this week at the American Telemedicine Association’s annual meeting.

But neither is available in much of rural America. Outside of the country's metropolitan areas, broadband access is spotty, despite federal efforts to expand networks. Wireless 4G coverage is rapidly expanding, yet it too is available primarily in cities, writes SearchHealthIT.com’s Don Fluckinger.

It’s an important issue, since areas that are least accessible to high-speed Internet access are the ones that most need telemedicine to connect patients with specialists in bigger cities.

Donald Kosiak Jr., an emergency-care doctor and medical director of Avera eCARE, part of the Avera McKennan Hospital system in the Dakotas, says there is great promise in 4G wireless networks that have speeds rivaling those of wired broadband, Fluckinger reports. Like wired broadband, 4G has enough bandwidth to allow live video streams, Kosiak says.

The SearchHealthIT article notes that a recent Deloitte report tagged health care as the most promising sector for growth in the use of 4G broadband technology.

Until 4G becomes more widely available in rural communities, small critical-access hospitals may be able to tap into old T1 lines used by other businesses in their towns, such as banks and large meat-packing plants, Kosiak says. He projects that 4G will be available in most of the country within three years, according to the SearchHealthIT report.

The question is whether that will include tiny towns that most need the connectivity.

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Areas that are least accessible to high-speed Internet access are the ones that most need telemedicine to connect patients with specialists in bigger cities.