FCC Finances Colorado Telehealth Network
The Colorado Hospital Association plans to create a new telehealth network, the Colorado Telehealth Network, that will cover the entire state. Funding to develop this broad effort was procured from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as described by Healthcare IT News.
The telehealth network is being developed to improve the delivery of healthcare services across Colorado. Other goals include reducing the cost of care, decreasing the occurrence of medical errors, and diminishing travel time for patients. Two additional goals include sharing of information between and among care givers and making care more affordable for residents. An additional intent is to improve care coordination during the case of public health emergencies.
The plans described thus far will make this the largest telehealth program in the U.S. to date. Over 70 hospitals in Colorado have signed on to participate, along with 184 mental health facilities and 118 health clinics. The FCC award for the program is $4.6 million in federal dollars which will be delivered over a three year period.
FCC funds, estimated of 85 percent of the total required, will support development of the network infrastructure. That includes costs associated with the network engineering and design, network hardware components and installation for both non-profit and public clinics and hospitals. Additional funds come from a 15 percent match by participating organizations.
The Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council also received an award from the FCC for $9.8 million. This group is a statewide organization representing community behavioral health providers across the State.
August 21, 2008 Related topics: Finance, Trends, Partnerships & Consortia, Contract Awards, IT & software