A telehealth consortium led by the University of California Office of the President and the UC Davis Health System has selected AT&T to build a secure, medical-grade telecommunications system as part of the California Telehealth Network (CTN). The consortium has been formed to create CTN as a statewide broadband system for healthcare. The project seeks to connect hundreds of healthcare providers throughout the state, making it one of the largest networks dedicated to healthcare in the nation.
AT&T's tasks for the project include establishing new, or upgrading existing, telemedicine connections, especially in rural communities throughout the state. The $30 million project will increase bandwidth capacity for telecommunications so that clinics, hospitals or other provider sites will have direct, peer-to-peer connectivity to all network members, plus connections to a range of external networks and services.
Led by the UC system, CTN is a partnership of organisations throughout the state established in 2007 as part of a $22 million pilot project from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Acceptance of the FCC award required a commitment of matching funds, which was provided by the California Emerging Technology Fund and the California Teleconnect Fund (operated by the California Public Utilities Commission). The CTN was created to improve healthcare access for rural and medically underserved areas of the state and provide a new resource for distance learning, emergency services and disaster preparedness.
Plans call for the new network to be a peer-to-peer system, enabling each member to have reliable, high-quality connections with public and nonprofit healthcare providers located in both rural and urban locations. Communities will benefit through improved access to clinical expertise in specialties ranging from oncology and radiology to infectious disease and psychiatry.
The network will also provide opportunities for continuing education and distance learning for health professionals, along with access to clinical research and the possibility of access to commercially hosted electronic health records systems.
Although CTN’s emphasis is on rural connectivity, its long-range goal is to establish a statewide telehealth system that links a majority of the state's healthcare facilities, including those in urban areas. The network team plans to train and support participants in the use of telemedicine equipment and assist them in establishing working relationships with medical specialists and other health providers.
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