e-Medicine and the Digital Divide

According to a June 2009 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 61 percent of American adults look for health information online. Dubbed “e-Patients,” these individuals use the Internet to learn about health topics of interest to them or their friends and family. Be it something as benign as a splinter or life-threatening as Swine Flu (H1N1), the Internet is seen as a source for reliable health information. Of course, the Internet can’t replace doctors, but it can enable users to make informed health care decisions and thereby encourage a more participatory doctor-patient relationship.

WebMD is one of the most well-known health information portals, attracting 17.3 million unique visitors in July 2008. Social networking site Patients Like Me functions as a support group and offers a platform for sharing treatment experiences. Public agencies such as local health departments, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sources for the most up-to-date health information and scientific data. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, medical journals, and medical atlases can also be used to facilitate health care conversations. Beyond that, virtual tours of medical facilities and physician video libraries like VideoMD can be tapped. And clinic directories can be found on sites like the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics. Excellent resources…if you have access.

People who are prone to suffer from serious health conditions generally have little or no access to online health care information. Vulnerable non-users are more likely to be poor, less educated, elderly or chronically ill. And they tend to be from historically underrepresented groups. Some are very young, uninsured or underinsured while others may be out of work, homeless, disabled or have limited-English proficiency. Often, these individuals live in medically-underserved rural or inner city areas and lack access to online health resources. All of this can exacerbate health disparities.

Bridging the digital divide related to health care information begins with extending reliable, affordable broadband to vulnerable populations while also supplying Internet-ready computers. Likewise, collaborative efforts are needed to provide computer skills training with emphasis on strategies for accessing health information online and using chronic disease management tools. It’s also essential that health content be accurate and multi-lingual. Copyright restrictions and pay-for-use fees that stem the dissemination of health information should, likewise, be reassessed. It’s equally important that findings from health disparities research be used to craft e-health policy. Daunting as these tasks may seem, as a nation, we are on the cusp of a new era in health care, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers an unparalleled opportunity to address digital divide issues. The challenge is to turn that opportunity into action.

Wall Street Journal video - Rural fiber project in Vermont

Lacking broadband infrastructure in western N.C.

Betty Hurst of western North Carolina's HandMade in America (www.handmadeinamerica.org), explains how craftspeople must have access to high-speed Internet services in order to sustain their small businesses and resultant livelihood.

InternetforEveryone.org Town Hall Series Coming to North Carolina

InternetforEveryone.org - a national initiative of groups that are working to bring the benefits of a fast, affordable and open Internet connection to everyone in America - will hold its second town hall meeting on March 7 in Durham. This event is part of a nationwide series designed to give local citizens a seat at the table as new leadership shapes America ʼs broadband future.

WHAT: InternetforEveryone.org Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
WHERE: Durham Marriott Convention Center, 201 Foster St., Durham

High-speed Internet, or "broadband," is becoming a crucial public necessity - but more than 40 percent of all U.S. homes are not connected or use slow "dial-up" technology. To address this digital divide, President Barack Obama has vowed to "expand broadband lines across America," and Congress is poised to spend billions on broadband as part of its economic stimulus bill. InternetforEveryone.org will deliver feedback from the Durham town hall meeting to the Obama administration and Congress as a national guide to building a better Internet.

"Leadership in Washington has made Internet for everyone a national priority," said Timothy Karr, campaign director of Free Press, the organizer of InternetforEveryone.org." But getting everyone connected wonʼt happen overnight. In North Carolina alone, more than 3.5 million citizens are without high-speed access. Building an open, fast, affordable Internet is a process that requires true public participation. Washington must listen to the people of Durham , and others across the country, in order to build an Internet that works for all Americans."

For more information, visit www.InternetforEveryone.org/Events/Durham.

Lacking broadband infrastructure in N.C. - Piedmont Comm. College, Caswell County

Lionell Parker, librarian at Piedmont Community College in Yanceyville, Caswell County, shares his story about the challenges of life without broadband at a public meeting about poor Internet access in North Carolina.

Speed DOES matter

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) have been strong supporters of universal Internet access in the United States. These last two years, they have taken that message online, especially in an effort to try to demonstrate what the true picture is of the speeds that people have to deal with across our land.

According to the CWA, between May 2007 and May 2008, over 230,000 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have found their Web site to take the Internet speed test and to measure how fast their computers can upload and download data. Unfortunately, the results show how far the United States lags other countries in speeds. And that’s not good…

But why should we care? Speed matters because it defines the applications that you can effectively run on the Internet from your home, business, government or institution. The United States – the very country that invented the Internet – have now fallen to a world rank of 15th in the percent of the population subscribing to broadband. This is according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development survey (OECD). Canada, France, and South Korea all have faster Internet connections. In Japan you can download an entire movie or educational course in two minutes, but it could take you two hours or more in the United States. And that’s if you’re lucky. And as for cost? Citizens in Japan often pay the same as we do and sometimes lower for their Internet connections of profoundly faster speed.

Take the CWA’s speed test and test your computer access and download speeds. Last year, the United States had a median download speed of 2.35 Mbps. North Carolina had a median download speed of 2.93 Mbps. On page 40 of the CWA August 2008 Speed Matters Report, you can find the page for North Carolina. Our median upload speed is 369 kbps. So in that regard, our ranking among the states is 11th, up from 16th in 2007.