Communications technology-enabled solutions that can play an important role in the transformation of healthcare. Media coverage of health issues. And the impact of various media on health.
Health and Media
FCC Commissioner Carr Calls for FTC Probe of Crisis Text Line
Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr called publicly for the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the nonprofit Crisis Text Line (CTL) over the suicide hotline’s former data-sharing practices with for-profit spinoff Loris.ai.
FCC Announces Final Group of Connected Care Pilot Program Projects
The Federal Communications Commission announced its fourth and final set of approved Connected Care Pilot Program projects. These 16 projects were approved for a total of $29,752,601 in funding. With the newly selected projects, the Connected Care Pilot Program is set to fund 107 projects serving patients in 40 states plus Washington (DC). The following projects were approved by the FCC:
How can the FCC deliver better broadband to rural health care providers?
Recent years have seen an explosion in demand for telehealth services, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, that has increased the bandwidth needs of rural health care providers. The Federal Communications Commission is proposing changes to its Rural Health Care Program rules that are designed to ensure that rural healthcare providers receive the funding necessary to access broadband and telecommunications services to provide vital healthcare services.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for March 2022 Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, 2022:
Adrianne B Furniss Announces 2022 Charles Benton Digital Equity Awards
Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Executive Director Adrianne B Furniss announced the 2022 Charles Benton Digital Equity Award winners at The National Digital Inclusion Alliance's Net Inclusion 2022 event. "We are here to honor three people who have demonstrated commitment, innovation, leadership, and collaboration: the very skills we need to navigate us through very trying, interlocking crises—and to steer us to a more equitable, more just society," said Furniss.
This virtual event will gather public and private sector thought leaders from a variety of disciplines, including telecommunications and health care, to discuss issues around recognizing broadband connectivity as a “social determinant of health.” Social determinants of health reflect the fact that health begins where we live, learn, work, and play; they are the non-medical factors (including education, health care access, income, and employment) that affect health or can serve as a predictor of one’s health status.
Lawmakers Call For Extension Of Pandemic Telehealth Expansion
Sens Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) led a bipartisan and bicameral group of 45 lawmakers in calling for the extension of expanded coverage of telehealth services to be included in must-pass legislation in February 2022. Provisions from the Schatz-authored CONNECT for Health Act were included in previous COVID-19 relief legislation to allow Medicare beneficiaries in all areas of the country, and in their homes, to utilize telehealth services and to expand the types of health care providers eligible to provide telehealth.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for Febuary Open Meeting
The Federal Communications Commission announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, February 18, 2022:
White House Requests Input on Developing Digital, Community-Oriented Health Care Services
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from community health stakeholders, technology developers, and other interested parties about how digital health technologies are used, or could be used in the future, to transform community health, individual wellness, and health equity.
Medicare Beneficiaries’ Use of Telehealth in 2020: Trends by Beneficiary Characteristics and Location
This research report examines changes in Medicare fee-for-service Part B visits and use of telehealth in 2020 during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) by beneficiary characteristics, provider specialty, and location. The analysis found that Medicare in-person visits dropped while telehealth visits increased significantly at the start of the pandemic. Subsequently, telehealth visits declined before plateauing by the end of 2020. Visits to behavioral health specialists showed the largest increase in telehealth. Most telehealth visits were from the beneficiary's home.