Colorado Telehealth Net a major win for Qwest

For the Colorado Telehealth Network, Qwest will be providing broadband facilities, including new fiberoptic connections to many medical centers or clinics that currently don’t have broadband, Summer said. Qwest was chosen in a competitive bidding process to provide a secure data network over fiber optics, he said.

“We have lots of facilities that don’t have high-speed Internet connections, let alone protected fiber optic networks, but are still using dialup modems,” Summer said. “Those that have Internet access do not have the bandwidth that allows them to receive imaging promptly – X-rays can take hours to pass through. At that level of care, you might as well get in a car and drive to the specialist.”

The Colorado Telehealth Network is being funded by two FCC awards, including one to the CHA that provides up to $4.6 million over the next three years, and one to the CBHC for $9.8 million. Participating health care providers contribute a 15% match in funds.

One of the challenges for the CHA will be sustainability of this network once that funding is exhausted, Summer admitted.

“We are talking to a variety of other organizations,” he said. “We just met with a firm that is looking to put telemedicine in place. And we have to look at how we can generate a transaction fee that will allow us to continue to maintain the highway.”