In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the healthcare field has the will and momentum to continue to expand telehealth services like virtual visits to their patients, says John Kravitz, CIO at Geisinger, Danville, Pa., and 2020 and 2021 chair of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives board of trustees. But to do so, healthcare organizations must work collaboratively with their communities to overcome some of the barriers.
“Broadband is probably the biggest concern here,” Kravitz says. “I don’t think the concern is organizations adapting to it or patients’ unwillingness to do it. I think broadband and certain very desolate, rural areas might be the rate limiting factor.”
And there are other issues beyond broadband. “When we talk about the ‘digital divide,’ we are referring to more than just bandwidth and internet speed … though these are critically important,” says Claire Deselle, vice president of applied innovation and performance improvement at Northern Light Health in Brewer, Maine, and an ACHE member. “We must also think about affordability, particularly amongst our most vulnerable populations, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses and those who are socially isolated.”
Because the digital divide is multifaceted, many different stakeholders need to be involved to close the gap, Deselle says. She has found that engaging government and business partners at the local, state and federal levels is beneficial. “Ultimately, it’s not just a hospital system problem. It impacts businesses’ and governments’ cost of care as well as the type of care delivered to their own families, friends and selves,” she says.
Jeanine Gentry, FACHE, CEO at Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, Idaho, works with elected leaders at the national, state and local levels for permanent payment changes to support telehealth. “If we can get it funded long-term, we will be able to put some of the tools in the homes of chronic patients and be able to do more with telehealth than we are doing now,” she says.
Laura Hegwer is a freelance writer and editor based in Lake Bluff, Ill
“Broadband is probably the biggest concern here,” Kravitz says. “I don’t think the concern is organizations adapting to it or patients’ unwillingness to do it. I think broadband and certain very desolate, rural areas might be the rate limiting factor.”
And there are other issues beyond broadband. “When we talk about the ‘digital divide,’ we are referring to more than just bandwidth and internet speed … though these are critically important,” says Claire Deselle, vice president of applied innovation and performance improvement at Northern Light Health in Brewer, Maine, and an ACHE member. “We must also think about affordability, particularly amongst our most vulnerable populations, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses and those who are socially isolated.”
Because the digital divide is multifaceted, many different stakeholders need to be involved to close the gap, Deselle says. She has found that engaging government and business partners at the local, state and federal levels is beneficial. “Ultimately, it’s not just a hospital system problem. It impacts businesses’ and governments’ cost of care as well as the type of care delivered to their own families, friends and selves,” she says.
Jeanine Gentry, FACHE, CEO at Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, Idaho, works with elected leaders at the national, state and local levels for permanent payment changes to support telehealth. “If we can get it funded long-term, we will be able to put some of the tools in the homes of chronic patients and be able to do more with telehealth than we are doing now,” she says.
Laura Hegwer is a freelance writer and editor based in Lake Bluff, Ill
FEATURE
Narrowing the Digital Divide
For many Americans, inequitable access to reliable, high-speed internet connections—either because of where they live or how much they earn—is affecting their health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.