Left to right, Venice Iyengar, Executive Director of Broadband Development and Connectivity, Louisiana, moderates a panel discussion on health disparities with Dianne Munevar, Senior Director of Business Risk and Innovation, NORC, University of Chicago; Kevin B. Mahoney, University of Pennsylvania Health Chief Executive Officer of the System; Dr. Michael Hochman, Chief Executive Officer, Healthcare Action Medical Group.
in a group on wednesday MedCity INVEST in Chicagoexperts address key components of improving health equity.
where pExperts talk about the need to engage the entire community, not just individual patients, and how improved internet connectivity can help Social determinants of health. Part of the conversation focused on expanding infrastructure and internet access in less populated areas. This is seen as the foundation, though not a panacea, for addressing inequities in care.
“I think we can do a lot on the digital divide once we roll out broadband,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Of course, to achieve this, significant investments are being made, and there is an emphasis on expanding broadband sooner rather than later.
To recap: Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of Louisiana Broadband Development and Connectivity, said $65 billion will be spent to address America’s digital divide. In that role, he oversees $1.8 billion to $2 billion of investments to improve internet connectivity; money that must be spent over the next five years.
“So we’re not talking about a 20-year effort, but a five-year effort to substantially bridge the digital divide in Louisiana,” Iyengar emphasized.
Currently, About 1.6 million of the state’s 4.6 million people don’t have access to the Internet, he said. Those without access do not have a device that they can use to surf the Internet or access broadband.
In an increasingly connected world, not having a mobile device or home internet access can make meeting basic needs more difficult. Without that link, it’s hard to address social determinants of health, such as if someone lacks transportation, said Dianne Munevar, senior director of business risk and innovation at NORC at the University of Chicago.
Most people can’t just call a taxi. Instead, they might use Uber or Lyft, which has a health care division — and for To use this mode of transport, you need internet access, Munevar said.
But panelists said expanding broadband alone won’t solve everything.
“Broadband is very important if we really care about health equity, but it’s not enough,” said Dr. Michael Hochman, CEO of Long Beach-based Healthcare Action Medical Group, a primary care physician who cares for the homeless Homecoming, California.
In a context where providing everyone with a smartphone may be costly and unsustainable, panelists discussed people’s need for affordable, accessible mobile devices to connect to services they can only access online.
But the panel didn’t completely rule out offline solutions. E.g, Iyengar mentioned the importance of familiarity with community anchors, such as non-medical facilities where people frequent or congregate. He noted that in some cases, for example, libraries are being used for telemedicine.
In addition, people who do not have a doctor nearby may always have access to a pharmacy that can provide some basic health services. Pharmacies have been a boon during the pandemic, as hundreds of millions of people there have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
“I think there’s a huge opportunity to innovate and leverage this touchpoint…to connect with patients,” Hochman said.
Photo: Walter Lim, MedCity News
