WiMAX in healthcare can be reduced to a discussion of the "3 A's": access, applications and affordability. This simple methodology explains the advantages of WiMAX in healthcare. In order to make universal healthcare coverage affordable, the United States will have to make universal broadband a reality. Patients or healthcare professionals attempting to transfer an X-ray from one office to another are frequently reduced to copying the image to CD-ROM and hand carrying or mailing the image to the distant office.

Impending regulations regarding electronic medical records (EMR) will further underscore the need for universal broadband coverage. How will healthcare professionals upload those EMRs if they don't have broadband connectivity at the office or clinic? How will the healthcare professional review those EMRs from home in the event of an emergency?
 
Key Benefits:

    * Assists grant writers in explaining broadband applications for the healthcare industry such as connecting the broad movement to Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in the US and the need for affordable broadband access for rural hospitals, clinics and doctor's offices
    * Provides grant writers with easy-to-understand explanations of mobile WiMAX in support of ambulance crews and other First Responders
    * Enables grant writers to connect the breakthroughs in H.264 video compression and telemedicine or telehealth for rural communities and healthcare providers which could lead to savings in healthcare costs in the billions of dollars annually

Audience:

    * Incumbent telecom operators
    * WiMAX solution providers
    * Vendors for WiMAX and/or the enterprise industries
    * Enterprise personnel responsible for computing and communications
    * Investors in the WiMAX space and/or enterprise automation

Table of Contents:
 
Executive Summary 1
Access 3
Why WiMAX? 3
Objections to WiMAX 5
WiMAX is not Wi-Fi 6
WiMAX Components 8
Relationship of WiMAX Range and Throughput for School Applications 11
Fixed vs. Mobile WiMAX 13
Why backhaul is important 13
Wireless Backhaul Considerations 15
Comparisons with Fiber 16
Spectrum Considerations 17
Access Conclusion 19
Applications: The Doctor is Always In 20
Taiwan: WiMAX and EMRs 20
Sweden: WiMAX-enabled Healthcare on the Islands 21
Relationship of Connectivity and Productivity 22
Applications: Generic 24
T1/DS3 Substitute = converged voice + data 24
Voice (telephony): the "killer app" for WiMAX 26
Disaster Recovery 28
Combating high telecom costs and/or Building Diversity 30
Applications Specific 32
Video conferencing and training 32
Home health care monitoring 32
Mobile or remote health care vans 32
Ambulance services 33
Enabling video compression technologies: the other half of the equation 34
HD at 1 Mbps?: HD recording and streaming live anywhere, any time 34
Standards 36
Cameras 37
Audio Factors 37
Echo Cancellation 38
The Audio Secret Sauce: Compression Algorithms and "wideband" 38
Applications Video and WiMAX 38
Video conferencing 38
Distance learning and training of rural or remote medical professionals 39
Telemedicine or remote check up via high definition video 39
The implications for WiMAX-based HD video services 39
Medical Imaging 41
Affordability 42
WiMAX is inexpensive relative to other technologies 42
Savings on Existing Expenditures 43
Conclusion 45
About the Author 46

Figures

Figure 1 The 3 elements that comprise a telecommunications network: Access, switching and transport (backhaul) 3
Figure 2 Wi-Fi serves a coffee shop or home. WiMAX serves a city 6
Figure 3 WiMAX nomenclature: base station and subscriber station 9
Figure 4 WiMAX base station and antenna combinations 10
Figure 5 WiMAX access or subscriber devices 10
Figure 6 Line of sight offers better range and throughput than non line of sight 11
Figure 7 Link budget illustrated 12
Figure 8 backhaul connects WiMAX base stations to a larger managed IP network 14
Figure 9 This IS the doctor's office and the doctor is ALWAYS in: EMRs accessible on a WiMAX-enabled smartphone. Why don't we have this? 21
Figure 10 Networking and the work place: the geographic expansion of enterprise telecommunications services 23
Figure 11 WiMAX services negate the need for legacy telco T1 services 24
Figure 12 WiMAX supports healthcare voice and data 25
Figure 13 WiMAX provides diverse path to enable disaster recovery 29
Figure 14 Destroyed telephone central office, 140 West Street, NYC, across from world Trade Center, September 15, 2001 30
Figure 15 WiMAX can enable shopping for best price on bandwidth, provides competition to other providers 31
Figure 16 Mobile healthcare vans can be networked via WiMAX 33
Figure 17 The networked ambulance can save lives 33
Figure 18 WiMAX can support HD video with a laptop sized encoder and soda can sized camera 37
Figure 19 Advances in compression technology and WiMAX make 1 Mbps HD video possible 40