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 and National Cancer Institute Champion Critical Role of Broadband in Rural Cancer Care
The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force (C2HFCC) today announced that the FCC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have joined forces, signing a memorandum of understanding that will focus on how increasing broadband access and adoption in rural areas can improve the lives of rural cancer patients.
Internet Discrimination is a 'Feature,' Not a Problem, Says FCC Chief
[Commentary] On Thursday, December 14, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a proposal to abolish net neutrality. People who care about rural America’s access to services and information should be concerned. Without net neutrality rules, consumers and the federal government have no way to prevent internet service providers from doing bad things to consumers until after the fact. And because there are no rules, how do you get providers to stop doing bad things to consumers and businesses?
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The Return of the Techno-Moral Panic
Our present panics tend to arrive just as new parts of our economy, culture and politics are reconstituted within platform marketplaces — shifts that have turned out to be bigger than anyone anticipated. Aggravation about “fake news” followed the realization that the business and consumption of online news had been substantially captured by Facebook, which had strenuously resisted categorization as a media company. Children’s entertainment has migrated to new and unexpected venues faster and more completely than either parents or YouTube expected or accounted for.
Chairman Pai Falsely Claims Killing Net Neutrality Will Help Sick and Disabled People
A popular claim by [telecom industry lobbyists, policy vessels, and loyal lawmakers] is that network neutrality rules are somehow preventing people who are sick or disabled from gaining access to essential medical services they need to survive. Despite the fact that the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules clearly exempt medical services from the ban on uncompetitive paid prioritization, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has consistently tried to claim otherwise.
FCC proposal suggests rural broadband expansion is in the works
The Federal Communication Commission released a proposed update to the Rural Health Care Program last week, in an effort to satisfy the rapidly expanding need for broadband telehealth programs.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2017:
Where does it hurt? Using telehealth to improve community broadband
[Commentary] The high rate of rural hospital closures is one factor driving the increasing interest in telemedicine, which uses high speed internet services to connect patients with healthcare providers. What some may not understand is that the push for telehealth may very well be the secret to advancing broadband itself in underserved communities, both rural and urban. By aligning healthcare institutions with schools and libraries that have telemedicine applications and services into a healthcare hub, a community can produce a powerful infrastructure.
Coalition of Health Providers and Telehealth Networks Urge Congress to Reform the Rural Health Care Program
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition along with 35 health care providers and telehealth networks from across the country sent a letter to Congressional leaders today asking them to support an increase in funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program. “This is a life and death issue for Rural America,” said John Windhausen, Executive Director of the SHLB Coalition.
Obesity Was Rising as Ghana Embraced Fast Food. Then Came KFC.
The growing popularity of fried chicken and pizza in parts of Africa
underscores how fast food is changing habits and expanding waistlines.