We all agree that the US healthcare system is in need of change. California announced recently that they’re taking major steps to be a part of that change. They’re launching a new “telehealth” system that will connect people in the state to the best healthcare regardless of location. According to L.A.Now, a blog for the LA Times, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger states that they are embarking on “a new era for healthcare.”

The network, a result of a Broadband Taskforce created in 2006, will be hosted on a broadband stream kept separate from regular Internet broadband. Within the next month they intend to connect over 50 sites, including both rural and urban groups. The project’s executive director, Eric Brown, stated that “the mission of the program is to increase access for rural clinics all over the state and also in urban areas where there is not proximity to quality care.”

They expect the network to help both rural and urban patients have better access to necessary care.