Opportunity

High-speed broadband offers the ability to improve and expand health care in the metro area, particularly for low-income and underserved populations. Services currently provided at safety net clinics are limited to general practice medicine. Using Internet, video and group consultation in the safety net clinic setting, providers can address more serious health issues and conditions that require consultation with specialists.

High-speed Internet will also enhance current statewide efforts in both Missouri and Kansas to establish health information exchanges to enable the sharing of patient records among physicians, labs and hospitals to improve health outcomes.

A demonstration project involving local hospitals like KU Medical Center, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Truman Medical Center, Providence Hospital, and others, could provide more efficient, effective health care to the uninsured/underinsured.

Action Steps

• Identify safety net and hospital partners for pilot
• Identify funding source and insurance industry partner
• Deploy necessary equipment in clinics.

Benefits & Outcomes

• Address unmet needs for care from specialists, allowing them to “see” more patients
• Reduce ER admissions and hospital readmissions
• Provide in-school consultation to students who might not have access to medical care otherwise
• Provide more comprehensive care for patients with dementia or autism or similar conditions
• Enhance electronic medical records and health information exchange capabilities
• Develop a better understanding of health needs and focus public resources more effectively

Accomplishments

• Convene a monthly meeting of health care professionals to uncover opportunities for gigabit health applications and a regional approach toward digital innovation in health care
• Brief+Case Health application (in-school telehealth solution linking student, parent and doctor) emerged from Hacking the Gigabit City event and awarded Mozilla Ignite grant
• Facilitated donation of SightDeck unit to Children’s Mercy
• KU Med received Mozilla Ignite grant and has developed application for in-home monitoring of Alzheimer’s patients
• Hackovate Health event by Think Big Partners and H&R Block yielded several promising health technology startups and raised profile of digital health tech