The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and Center for Health Law  and Policy Innovation have released a report that looks at the impact (and potential) of broadband on health care. They report…

This brief explores the ways broadband and healthcare stakeholders can work together to close the broadband health gap.

The make the case for connection between broadband and health…

The outline numerous ways broadband facilitates healthcare and the benefits. Here’s one example:

Remote Patient Monitoring
Digital devices are increasingly used to monitor patient health,12 including blood pressure cuffs, glucometers (to test blood sugar), pulse oximeters (to check blood oxygen levels), ECGs (to capture heart function), wearable activity trackers, Bluetooth thermometers, and scales.13
Remote patient monitoring can improve diabetes care, hypertension, cancer treatment, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.14 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advocates for remote patient monitoring for pregnant and postpartum women due to similar outcomes but fewer higher risk in-person visits.15
In some instances, a remote patient monitoring device is equipped with its own independent network, allowing patients without general internet access to send data from their homes to their care team in real time.16 However, this practice is rare.

There’s a nice chart on how Broadband Impacts All Other Social Determinants of Health…

The offer some high level actions and include a more detailed plan. I’ve included just the high level points – but the detailed plan is worth checking out.

Key Action 1: Screening for Broadband Access and Digital Literacy

Key Action 2: Collaboration with Community Anchor Institutions

Key Action 3: Establish a Broadband-Healthcare Working Group

And a conclusion – but the power in this report is really in the visually presented details…

High-speed internet enables a wide range of healthcare services, from telehealth to hospital at-home programs. By influencing other key social determinants of health—including housing, transportation, education, employment, and access to food—broadband serves as a ‘super’ social determinant of health. Efforts that improve access while prioritizing patients, empowering communities, strengthening the role of anchor institutions, and enabling stakeholder collaboration are winning solutions that build a stronger foundation to close the broadband health gap.

The Timberjay reports…

Rural Minnesota is aging more rapidly than the rest of the state, and northern St. Louis County is part of that trend. Older adults already make up a growing share of the population, outnumbering children in many rural communities. The 2025 Minnesota Rural Health Care Chartbook, released Monday by the Minnesota Department of Health, outlines how that demographic shift is colliding with signs of strain across the rural health care system.

One of the clearest indicators is in emergency medical services. Minnesota saw a net loss of 542 EMS certifications last year, MDH reported, a decline that is being felt most sharply in rural areas. Small departments often have a limited number of responders, so even one or two departures can reduce coverage and extend response times. The trend arrives as the region’s population grows older, increasing the number of medical calls that depend on a prompt EMS response.
That context matters when looking at the report’s findings on stroke care. MDH notes that access to stroke-capable hospitals has improved substantially, with roughly 84 percent of rural residents now living within a 30-minute drive of a designated facility. The expanded hospital readiness is a clear gain, but its effectiveness hinges on the first link in the chain. Without adequate EMS staffing to reach patients quickly, the benefit of having more stroke-ready hospitals within driving distance becomes harder to realize.

Telehealth is mentioned as a possible solution that isn’t living up to potential…

Telehealth, which expanded rapidly during the early years of the pandemic, has not filled the gap as broadly in rural Minnesota as hoped. MDH notes that rural residents used telehealth at lower rates than urban residents over the past year. While the report estimates that around one in ten rural Minnesotans lacks adequate broadband for video visits, the experience within northern St. Louis County suggests the number may be higher in some areas. Broadband access remains inconsistent, and in locations where fiber has not reached, video-based care can be unreliable. The variation limits the effectiveness of telehealth as a substitute for in-person services.