Cable in Healthcare

With cable expanding its presence in vertical markets like healthcare, major cable MSOs including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Charter are all set to return to the 2015 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference April 12-16 in Chicago. Cable’s marketing group CTAM also has a kiosk at the event in the Interoperability Showcase area. The MSOs will demonstrate their carrier-grade Ethernet services, telemedicine offerings, cloud-based services and other options serving the healthcare industry. Over the past year, cable companies are providing services for innovations around several healthcare areas including new patient-driven video services and telemedicine trials. Comcast’s business arm launched its new Ethernet@Home service and an initial deployment with Cooper University Health Care, providing connections to Cooper radiologists working remotely and enabling access to medical images and other patient files from home. Mediacom Business offered Ethernet services to Southern Illinois Healthcare, allowing neurologists to examine and diagnose stroke victims remotely in the critical time window right after a stroke has occurred. Time Warner Cable Business Class launched a HD Video for Healthcare service last year expressly designed for hospital patient rooms. The service is designed to help hospitals keep patients comfortable during their stay and deliver HD channels, an interactive program guide and free on-demand content. Cablevision launched a community video-on-demand channel in partnership with Winthrop University Hospital for subscribers living in NY, NJ and CT. The station features health and wellness content including videos from medical experts at the hospital. Cox launched a venture early this year with the Cleveland Clinic to develop in-home services for medical care. Spectrum Business, a Charter unit, completed the final segment of an 87-mile fiber network in 2014 and is providing services including telemedicine for Sutter Coast Hospital.