FCC Rural Health Care Pilot Program

Larry Malone, Chairman/Project CoordinatorJack Shaffer, Technical Coordinator/CIO

A statewide non-profit group comprising the stakeholders involved in telehealth and rural health care in West Virginia to focus on telehealth services, telehealth research and health education  

Nine-member board of directors

FCC Rural Health Care Pilot• WVTA’s Funds: $8.4 million federal (requires a 15% match - $1.3 million)• Three-year program, but extended until 2013• Cost-reimbursement program

– Cover costs associated with the design, engineering and construction of broadband health care networks and broadband subscription fees

– No administrative costs nor equipment will be covered

• All eligible projects must be competitively bid (USAC), and are subject to quarterly reviews, and stringent oversight and audits

RHCPP Objectives– Interconnect state and region-wide broadband health

care networks– Aid greater use of telehealth applications and learning– Facilitate electronic health information exchange and

EHRs– Provide Internet2 connectivity

= Improved rural health care and outcomes

Eligible Entities- Rural health care centers and free clinics- Critical access hospitals (non-profit)- Mental health clinics (non-profit)- Medical teaching institutions (Marshall, CAMC,

WVU and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine)

- County health departments- School-based clinics- Free clinics

- ERs in for-profit hospitals that provide Medicare

WV Telehealth Network

WVTA Plan– Utilize existing telecommunications infrastructure to connect

major participants (hubs) and then to connect rural participants on a regional basis, starting in southern West Virginia and then proceeding north and east to affect a phased integration and coordination of advanced communication and information infrastructure that supports telehealth applications

– Coordinate the existing activities of WVU MDTV, CAMC, Marshall University, the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine, the participating members of the West Virginia Hospital Association and the Community Health Network of West Virginia, the West Virginia Primary Care Association, free clinics, local health departments, state-operated facilities, and other eligible health care providers through a dedicated network utilizing a scalable high-speed broadband infrastructure

WVTA Plan

– Aggregation of broadband service– Enhanced pricing power– More effective analysis and planning– System upgrades in rural areas– Drive improvements in service quality, reliability– Greater use of telehealth services

• Peri-natal project

WVTA Plan

Dedicated Broadband Health Care Network Connectivity:

• Connect community/rural health centers with minimum broadband: MPLS T1's.

• Connect acute care and critical access hospitals with advanced broadband: MPLS T1's to 10 meg fiber service

• The plan anticipates having health entities in 290 locations connected during the pilot program

• Foster systemwide upgrades and enhancements of these networks…to bolster telehealth and EHRs

• Aggregating demand for pricing and service benefits

WVTA PlanI2 Connectivity:

Provide for an Internet2 connection beginning at Marshall University, then facilitated through Marshall’s connection to WVNET, the state MPLS Network and the state Higher Education Network…will translate into new health care delivery, education, research and training capabilities, not only in the arena of Internet2, but among affiliated health care collaborators across the state of West Virginia and beyond.

WVTA PlanInter-Carrier Hub/Backbone:The idea of the WVTA plan was to create a network that any eligible entity could participate irrespective of individual telecommunications carrier utilized by the various health care organizations.

The plan called for the creation of an inter-carrier Metro/MPLS hub to serve as the backbone for the entire WVTA. The hub would act as a Class Of Service (CoS), inter-provider IP-MPLS backbone that would allow for connectivity between any of the telecommunications providers operating in the State utilizing the MPLS protocol. It was envisioned that this backbone will allow for gigabit connectivity between the differing MPLS vendors and will allow rural health care providers to connect to the West Virginia Telehealth Alliance network by way of Verizon, nTelos, Fibernet, or any other carrier providing ethernet services.

This backbone would basically allow for “metro-to-metro” connectivity.

Building “the network”

Huntington Metro Fiber

I2 Connector

Inter-CarrierHub

Internet2

MPLS - Fibernet

MPLS - Verizon

MPLS - nTelosMPLS - Other

St. Mary’s

CabellHuntington

Marshall Schoolof Medicine

EligibleHospital

EligibleClinic Site

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EligibleHospital

EligibleClinic Site

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Timeline

1st Telco Services RFP (45 centers, 100+ locations)First RFP: Fall 2008First Contract: Winter 2009

1st Network Analysis (12-15 centers, 50+ locations)First Project: Winter 2009

Internet2Metro Fiber Build: Fall 2008 – Spring 2009Internet2 Connectivity: Summer 2009

2nd Telco Services RFPSpring 2009

e-Health Interconnection

Will support health tech initiatives:

• Participate in an ongoing review of state health tech infrastructure and a statewide network analysis to identify gaps in service and access

• Facilitate construction and connection of an interoperable, integrated statewide health information network that provides advanced broadband connectivity needed for electronic health information exchange and telehealth

Questions?

500 Corporate Centre Drive, Suite 510Scott Depot, WV 25560

(304) 201-5707www.wvtelehealth.org