A broadband network planned for Pennsylvania may become a key conduit for health information in the state.
Earlier this month, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a $99.6 million federal stimulus grant to the Keystone Initiative for Network-Based Education and Research (KINBER).
The funding, along with $29 million in private investment, will be used to build the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN). Upon completion, the fiber-optic cable network will stretch about 1,700 miles through 39 counties, according to KINBER, a coalition of education, research, healthcare and economic development organizations.
Funding for the network stems from NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. That program provides grants to promote the deployment of broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. Pennsylvania lacks a high-speed optical network that serves higher education and healthcare entities, KINBER reported.
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, in a speech announcing the grant, said PennREN "will become the main artery of healthcare information across the state."
In a prepared statement, Carolyn Scanlan, president and chief executive officer of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, said PennREN, "will eventually serve as the conduit to interoperability between health care providers and the Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange (PHIX), and the Nationwide Health Information Network."
PHIX is envisioned as linking providers, patients, hospitals, labs and pharmacies throughout the commonwealth. To make that happen, Pennsylvania may partner with Delaware to obtain health information exchange services through that state's Delaware Health Information Network contract.
Kenn Marshall, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, said the grant to build PennREN still has to be finalized with the federal government, so a timetable hasn't been established for construction.
Once the build out starts, the project will take about three years to complete, he added.
