Project Spotlight

Telehealth Network Design Services
State of Louisiana Dept. of Health &
Hospitals University of Arkansas for Medical Services

EDI, Ltd. has recently been involved with two Telehealth Network Design projects – one for the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals (DHH), which has been completed, and a current one for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

For the State of Louisiana, EDI evaluated and designed a Wide Area Network for approximately 200 sites throughout the state by:

• Evaluating the existing DHH and non-DHH networks, including backbone and local infrastructure
• Designing new network connections to non-DHH participants who currently have no connectivity
• Recommending links from all participating health care providers to a new backbone
• Providing solutions for connectivity outside the state of Louisiana, to the Internet, and to Internet2

For the University of Arkansas, EDI’s design scope of work includes:

• Review of the existing connected and non-connected participating sites - currently approximately 311 sites – and develop the bandwidth, equipment, and infrastructure requirements for each site
• Analysis of the existing network data and connectivity
• Discover and analyze provisioning options and connectivity speeds by provisioning entities
• A network design to include:
  • 6 regional and 1 statewide network
  • A network backbone supporting all Arkansas TeleHealth network participating sites and future expansion
  • IP addressing and routing configurations
  • Security policies and HIPAA compliance
  • Network management and a help desk for a single point of contact solution.
• Developing a needs analysis, functional requirements, bandwidth requirements, equipment specifications, infrastructure specifications, and connecting and security requirements
• Analysis of the data, develop a best practice design that will provide the best solution relative to connectivity and cost for each site and the entire network  

Both of these Telehealth Network projects are in support of the national goal to create a nationwide broadband network and the widespread adoption of electronic health records. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) in 2006 to encourage the development and use of broadband networking services by healthcare providers serving rural and urban communities throughout the nation. In November 2007, the FCC released the Rural Health Care Pilot Program Selection Order, selecting 69 participants covering 42 states and three U.S. territories. The Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals in Baton Rouge, LA, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Services in Little Rock, AR, were two of the selected participants.

This new connectivity enables medical specialists to provide care to rural areas using two-way interactive video (telemedicine), thereby ensuring that where a person lives does not affect the quality of healthcare they have access to. These projects are critically important as they are providing greater access to telemedicine resources, expanding educational opportunities, helping rural businesses grow, and benefiting residents in their daily lives.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received stimulus money to establish and upgrade broadband connections at 474 healthcare and education sites across Arkansas, as well as fiber connections and/or bandwidth upgrades in all of Arkansas’s 75 counties, including 135 Arkansas communities, 81 Arkansas hospitals, all two-year colleges (four-year colleges are already connected), eight public libraries, all state human development centers, the state’s trauma network, community health centers, mental health clinics, and home health agencies. The Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals also received stimulus money to acquire telehealth network design services for the Arkansas Telehealth Network. DHH had approximately 200 sites that were to be reviewed for existing connections and needed to develop the bandwidth, equipment, and infrastructure requirements for each site.

In This Newsletter

EDI Wins the 2010 DBIA Award

Data Center Design by EDI

Saving Energy in Data Centers