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National
Grange Shows the Connection Between Telemedicine and
High-Speed Internet Access Washington,
May 20, 2004 - "Telecommunications Issues Facing Rural Communities" was the
topic of discussion when Alan Daley, director of security and infrastructure issues
at Verizon Inc., recently spoke to the National Grange Legislative Fly-In 2004
participants. Daley stressed the importance of the telemedicine and high-speed
Internet access connection. Telemedicine
connects health care providers from across the nation and patients living in remote
areas, thereby enabling geographically-dispersed individuals access to the knowledge
and resources of the healthcare industry. Although Internet access varies considerably
throughout rural America, the future will undoubtedly bring increasing Internet
connectivity. According to Daley, medical professionals can see a day in which
many of the problems they face in providing healthcare to rural America, such
as access to up-to-date information, will be eliminated with increased access
to the Internet. "To
make telemedicine services available, rural communities must have high-speed infrastructure
available so that information can be downloaded and uploaded at about three megabits
per second," Daley said. "Currently, the system is backwards, it is only capable
of high-speed downloads. For the remote surgeon in Alaska, being able to upload
pictures or stream videos is so important. This way a specialist can make a diagnosis
quickly and proper medical treatment can be provided to the patient."
According to the USDA, only one-tenth of one percent of families living in rural
communities of 1,000 people or less have Internet access. Since the beginning
of the Bush Administration, more than $100 million has been invested in telemedicine,
allowing more than 650 rural health care facilities to develop technologies needed
to enhance local medical care. President Bush has vowed to make affordable Internet
access available to all Americans by 2007. Over
a century ago, farmers and rural Americans were relegated to limited "horse and
buggy" mail service, leaving large segments of our population disconnected from
the rest of society. Because of the efforts of the National Grange, rural Americans
won the right to free mail delivery service. Today, the Grange is leading another
battle to bring high-speed Internet to every rural community. | 
