In rural America, digital divide slows a vital path for telemedicine

[Commentary] Telemedicine — the delivery of health care services using communications technology — can be a critical tool for making Americans healthier. A concerted push to seize the untapped potential of telemedicine could help us tackle today’s health challenges. The most crucial step in seizing the opportunities of digital medicine is making sure that every community has high-speed Internet access. More than 24 million Americans don’t even have the option of subscribing to home broadband service at the baseline speeds required for high-bandwidth applications such as telemedicine. Those who stand to benefit most from telemedicine disproportionately find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide.  Both of us have different perspectives and may disagree on many issues and policies at the FCC. But on the importance of developing telemedicine, we share the same determination to move forward.

[Newton N. Minow served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1961 to 1963. Ajit Pai has served in that position since 2017.]