GNC reports on intersection of healthcare and broadband as mapped by the FCC…

The connection between access to broadband and the availability of innovative health care may not be immediately apparent, but  a new web-based interactive mapping tool developed by the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force make the correlations increasingly clear.

Mapping Broadband Health in America lets the public, health officials and government agencies find the intersection between broadband connectivity and health at the national, state and county levels.

“The reality of broadband is that everything it touches is transformative,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said at the Aug. 2 launch event in Washington, D.C. “Yes, broadband is transformative for healthcare, but, no, broadband is not totally available.”

You can search and map data in many ways – by state and by county. Here is how Minnesota added up:

Broadband Access

• Number of Providers : 101
• Fixed Broadband : 88.3%
• Fixed Download : 89.3%
• Fixed Upload : 91.7%
• Most Common Download : 100 – 1,000 mbps
• Most Common Upload : 15 – 25 mbps

Health Access

• Primary Care Physicians : 4,834
• Dental Providers : 3,544
• Mental Health : 10,254
• Health Measures
• Poor/Fair Health : 573,003
• Premature Death : 5,038 per 100,000
• Preventable Hospitalization : 44.9 per 1,000
• Injury Deaths : 55.9 per 100,000
• Sick Days : 2.8 days per month

Health Behaviors

• Obesity : 26%
• Diabetes : 7.6%
• Smoking : 16.2%
• Excessive Drinking : 19.3%
• Physical Inactivity: 19.3%
• Severe Housing : 14.6%

The site includes a list of the 100 Priority Counties and another list of the 100 Priority Rural Counties. These are the counties that need the most help. Here’s the good news – no Minnesota Counties made the list!