By: Michael Mandel – 

The new telemedicine bill in the Pennsylvania Senate is great — with one glaring exception.

Health care in Pennsylvania confronts three major issues: access, cost and productivity. Telemedicine addresses all three.

Broadband allows many underserved rural and minority communities with limited access to medical services to remotely access high-quality medical care. Telemedicine reduces the need for expensive real estate, lowering costs, and enables providers to better leverage their medical personnel to provide improved care to more people. This is especially important for a big state like Pennsylvania, which is trying to economically revive towns that were hit hard by the decline in manufacturing and mining jobs.

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