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OREGON HEALTH
NETWORK
Frequently Asked
Questions
- 401 Kb PDF posted after issuance of the FCC Order, November 19,
2007
What is it?
Background
OHN Planning Committees
Links to Organizations and
Locations
Related Legislation
Request For Information
Meetings
and Minutes
What is it?
The concept is to create a digital broadband network of networks that would
securely and privately interconnect all Oregon hospitals and clinics,
including dental and optical clinics, for the provision of telehealth
services. In addition it would connect Oregon hospitals and clinics with all
Oregon state and county public health offices and all Oregon educational
institutions that provide training for health care professionals or para-professionals.
The network would interconnect with both the Internet and Internet2 (or
National Lambda Rail) to reach relevant sites on those networks. It would be
inter-operable with Oregon public safety networks to coordinate disaster
planning and response. It would also connect with health insurers for secure
payment mechanisms and to Oregon pharmacies for secure electronic
prescribing applications. It would be securely accessible via the Internet
to permit authorized access from other locations, including for clinicians
on call from their homes and for home health monitoring and communicating
with patients in their homes. The network would permit reliable data,
digital image, digital voice and digital video transmission with quality
sufficient for real time clinical instruction and medical consultations. It
would provide a network suitable for secure exchange of electronic medical
records among those with appropriate authorization. It would save travel
costs by permitting multi-site videoconferencing for administrative
conferences, education and training courses for certification and continuing
education, and clinical consultations.
"STRAWMAN"
PROPOSAL FOR DISCUSSION (.pdf, 64 kb)
Background
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a pilot program
that will pay for up to 85 per cent of the costs of such a network for
successful applicants. The pilot program is currently limited to two years
of funding. Funds may be used for both network design and implementation.
(The 15 percent that participating institutions would be required to pay, in
many cases, may be less than they are now paying for network connectivity or
may permit availability of expanded network capacity at costs comparable to
present network costs.) Information about the proposed FCC pilot program is
available at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/rural/rhcp.html. The FCC’s rural healthcare
program of the Universal Service Fund (USF) could subsidize on-going annual
costs for connecting rural locations. Information about this ongoing subsidy
program is available at
http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/ruralhealth/welcome.html. The Rural Utility
Service (RUS) of the US Department of Agriculture has a telemedicine and
distance learning grant program that could be used to pay for routers,
videoconference equipment and other network equipment at end user sites.
This is an independent and additional funding opportunity. The FCC
application will not be made dependent on later getting RUS funding.
OHN Planning Committees
Business Plan Development and Governance
Technical Planning Committee
Funding and Finance Committee
Links to Organizations and
Locations
Community Colleges
http://www.oregon.gov/CCWD/ccdirectory.shtml
County Health Departments and Locations
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/lhd/lhd.shtml
Hospitals
http://www.theagapecenter.com/Hospitals/Oregon.htm
Rural Health Clinics
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/outreach/oregonruralhealth/clinics/about-clinics.cfm
Related Legislation
Oregon
Senate Joint Resolution 20 (full text
HERE)
"Declares state policy to promote and
facilitate activities by Oregon's health care and education communities and
their telecommunications providers to develop network model that provides
standards for interoperability and to establish peering point and peering
agreements among health care and education networks. Encourages Oregon
Telecommunications Coordinating Council Health-Education Committee to work
with health care and education communities and telecommunications providers
to develop telecommunications network model."
Request for Information (closed)
The Telehealth Alliance of Oregon has
issued a Request for Information (RFI) to assist in the technical planning
for an Oregon Health Network (OHN). Specific budgetary estimates provided in
response to that RFI will be protected as confidential information, but will
be used in aggregate form to prepare the budget for the application to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for funding to implement the
network. Click HERE to
view or download the RFI.
Meetings and Minutes
- Initial Strategic Planning Session held
November 17, 2006 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
AGENDA
- Click on
E-COPERNICUS for more
information at their Web site.
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