Broadband

The Internet impacts every facet of the modern citizen's life, including how they receive health care services. Because of the Internet, health care is no longer confined to the four walls of a hospital, clinic, or doctor's office. Today, a patient in Ahoskie, North Carolina, with a short-term illness can access the University of North Carolina's Urgent Care network via a Skype-like video call 24/7 [1]. Patients with chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure can track their symptoms and vitals through an app on their smartphone that communicates data to their provider, rather than visiting the doctor for frequent check-ups [2]. Providers can even remotely support a person recovering from opioid use disorder through apps that allow doctors to monitor adherence to the prescribed treatment protocols [3]. Physicians and health care professionals can more easily connect, advise, and provide consult to each other now too. Through the NC Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP), an emergency room physician in Scotland County can consult with a psychiatrist from East Carolina University on treatment methods for a patient presenting rare behavioral health symptoms [4]. Radiologists can quickly and easily send MRIs to doctors across the world, and physicians can quickly view notes recorded at a patient's last visit through Electronic Health Records (EHR) [5]. These, and a wide variety of other services, all fall under the umbrella of telehealth. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology defines telehealth as “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support…