High-Speed Telemedicine Network Gaining Steam in California

Rural health-care providers will soon have their own broadband network for the practice of telemedicine in California, according to Christine Martin, executive director of the California Telemedicine & eHealth Center (CTEC). He revealed that 300 rural sites will be on a secure, high-speed medical grade network by the end of 2011, as part of the California Telehealth Network’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program. Potentially more than 850 rural sites will be able to use the network. Telehealth and telemedicine are terms used interchangeably to refer to clinical care provided to a patient from a distance, using live video conferencing or digital imagery.