“Research is scarce on health care providers’ broadband connectivity needs and the ability of the country’s infrastructure to meet those needs. This plan is one of the first attempts to quantify both. A number of challenges that prevented earlier study are relevant to this analysis. Pricing data, for instance, are proprietary and fluctuate widely according to a number of variables, making it difficult to quantify an aggregate price curve. Databases of practice locations bear inconsistent category classifications and often overlap (e.g., a small hospital may also be called a rural health clinic; a small health clinic may also be called a medium-sized physician office). Despite these shortcomings, this analysis is necessary to inform health care policy changes related to broadband, including the effort underway to reform the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program.”
Article
Brian Ahier, Healthcare, Technology & Government 2.0, 17 March 2010
