Cablevision Systems Corp.’s commercial services operation, Optimum Lightpath, said more than 15 healthcare providers in the tri-state area have recently signed up for its Metro Ethernet service.
Cablevision quoted Insight Research reports that say the U.S. healthcare telecommunications services market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4 percent, from $6.3 billion in 2006 to $8.1 billion in 2011. The growth will be driven by the need for advanced, data-intensive applications such as computerized x-ray systems, electronic medical record systems and PET imaging solutions, which demand exponentially higher bandwidth, speed and capacity in the network.
Among Optimum Lightpath’s new Metro Ethernet customers are Saint Clare’s Health System in Morris County, N.J.; Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J.; and St. Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx, N.Y.
“Many of the newest clinical applications, such as those related to imaging, are highly data-intensive. Clearly, the previous 45 Mbps connections we had did not cut the mustard,” said Richard Temple, chief information officer, Saint Clare’s Health System. “Our upgrade to Optimum Lightpath’s Gigabit Ethernet service will help our doctors and technicians deliver better patient care, plain and simple.”
