The Association of Broadband Internet Access and Telemedicine Utilization in rural Western Tennessee: an observational study

Jacob K. Quinton, Michael Ong, Sitaram Vangala, Anna Tetleton-Burns, Ashley Webb, Catherine A. Sarkisian, Alejandra Casillas, Preeti Kakani, Maria Han, Claude Pirtle · 2021 · BMC Health Services Research

Summary. Rural patients in western Tennessee with high broadband access (80-100%) were significantly more likely to use telemedicine than those with low access (0-20%), even after adjusting for income, education, and physician supply. Broadband availability emerged as a key factor enabling telemedicine adoption in rural communities, suggesting that expanding broadband infrastructure directly improves rural healthcare access.

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Quinton, J. K., Ong, M., Vangala, S., Tetleton-Burns, A., Webb, A., Sarkisian, C. A., Casillas, A., Kakani, P., Han, M., & Pirtle, C.. (2021). The Association of Broadband Internet Access and Telemedicine Utilization in rural Western Tennessee: an observational study. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06746-0

@article{quinton-2021-association-broadband-internet-access-telemedicine,
  title   = {The Association of Broadband Internet Access and Telemedicine Utilization in rural Western Tennessee: an observational study},
  author  = {Jacob K. Quinton and Michael Ong and Sitaram Vangala and Anna Tetleton-Burns and Ashley Webb and Catherine A. Sarkisian and Alejandra Casillas and Preeti Kakani and Maria Han and Claude Pirtle},
  journal = {BMC Health Services Research},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.1186/s12913-021-06746-0},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06746-0}
}

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TI  - The Association of Broadband Internet Access and Telemedicine Utilization in rural Western Tennessee: an observational study
AU  - Jacob K. Quinton
AU  - Michael Ong
AU  - Sitaram Vangala
AU  - Anna Tetleton-Burns
AU  - Ashley Webb
AU  - Catherine A. Sarkisian
AU  - Alejandra Casillas
AU  - Preeti Kakani
AU  - Maria Han
AU  - Claude Pirtle
JO  - BMC Health Services Research
PY  - 2021
DO  - 10.1186/s12913-021-06746-0
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Details

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-06746-0
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: broadband-and-digital, rural-healthcare
Added: 2026-04-28