Vision for California Telehealth

“California is already a world leader in technology, so it makes sense that we also lead the way in applying technology to healthcare. We have been laying the groundwork for years with our Broadband Task Force and Telehealth Network and we are beginning to see fantastic results, including greater access to quality medical care throughout the state.”        

  The CTN project intends to leverage and build upon California’s historic and recent investments in telehealth. In the last few years, a number of exciting initiatives have been launched in California to advance the use of telecommunications and health care technology. Significant among these are Governor Schwarzenegger’s Health Information Technology (HIT) Executive Order (S-12-06, signed July 2006), which allocated $240 million to achieve full information exchange between health care providers and stakeholders within ten years and his Broadband Executive Order (S-23-06, signed November 2006) which established a broadband task force to promote broadband access and usage. Also important are efforts of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), the California Telemedicine & eHealth Center’s (CTEC’s) regional eHealth networks, the California Teleconnect Fund (administered by the California Public Utilities Commission), and the University of California’s Proposition 1D funding.

Governor’s Executive Orders related to broadband connectivity and Telehealth: Governor Schwarzenegger’s executive orders S-12-06 and S-23-06 directed state resources to promote broadband access and increase use of health information technology.

California Broad Band Task Force: Begun under Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order (EO) S-23-06, the California Broadband Task Force (CBTF) was created to “bring together public and private stakeholders to remove barriers to broadband access, identify opportunities for increased broadband adoption, and enable the creation and deployment of new advanced communication technologies.” The Governor appointed Task Force members on November 30, 2006 and the Task Force held its first meeting on January 18, 2007. The EO charged the Task Force with developing two reports. The first report included recommendations for “administrative actions that can result in immediate promotion of broadband access and usage.” The second and final report was especially innovative in that it was the first survey in the United States to provide household-level information about broadband service availability statewide. In it, the Task Force concluded that “increasing both access to and use of broadband will build economic capital, strengthen public safety resources, improve living standards, expand educational and healthcare opportunities, and raise the levels of civic engagement and governmental transparency.”

California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF): The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) was established and funded by the SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI merger agreements approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in November 2005. CETF focuses on “achieving ubiquitous access to broadband and advanced services in California, particularly in underserved communities through the use of existing and emerging technologies.”

California Telemedicine & eHealth Center: Created in 1997, the California Telemedicine & eHealth Center facilitated the growth of telemedicine and eHealth in California by working collaboratively with hospitals, clinics, county and state agencies, federal and state legislative policy makers, community-based organizations, and other non-profit entities throughout the state. CTEC has made significant contributions toward increasing the technological expertise of California health care organizations through capacity building, training, education, and re-granting. In particular, CTEC has emerged as the primary source for hospitals and clinics in promoting the use of telemedicine and eHealth within underserved communities.

California Teleconnect Fund (CTF): The California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) provides discounts on advanced telecommunications services, i.e., broadband, for qualifying schools, hospitals, libraries and community-based organizations, including community technology programs. The Fund was created to reduce the digital divide, and the CTF discount provides a way to ensure community technology centers and other nonprofit entities can afford to provide their communities with Internet-enabled technology services such as Internet training, telemedicine and distance learning. CTF provides an ongoing 50 percent discount to connect to the Internet. This discount applies to ISDN, DSL, and T-1. CTF is financed by a 0.13% surcharge placed on every telephone bill.

Proposition 1D: In November 2006 California voters approved Proposition 1D, an education bond providing the University of California with $200 million for infrastructure to expand medical school enrollment and build and enhance telemedicine statewide. Following approval of the measure, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated, “With Proposition 1D funds we will eventually be able to connect our best hospitals and our best medical schools with clinics in remote areas all over the state of California.”