Health Information Technology

The Federal Communications Commission is exploring the creation of an experimental “Connected Care Pilot Program” to support the delivery of advanced telehealth services to low-income Americans. In a Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the FCC seeks comment on creating a Universal Service Fund pilot program to promote the use of broadband-enabled telehealth services among low-income families and veterans, with a focus on services delivered directly to patients beyond the doors of brick-and-mortar health care facilities. The NOI seeks comment on:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that a majority of Commissioners have voted in favor of his proposal to increase funding for the Universal Service Fund’s Rural Health Care Program by $171 million a year. “Telemedicine is vital in many communities that may not otherwise have access to high-quality health care, and the Federal Communications Commission has an important role in promoting it. I want to thank Commissioners O’Rielly and Carr for their support as the FCC takes the critical step of updating its Rural Health Care Program.

More and more, rural hospitals and clinics rely on high-speed internet access to bridge the urban-rural gap and provide their patients with services that are often found only in much larger cities. But a federal program to help subsidize the cost of broadband for rural health care facilities has hit its funding cap, which may jeopardize the push to connect more rural health facilities. 

A bipartisan group of thirty-one Senators sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission calling for greater funding for the Rural Health Care (RHC) program.

Facebook was in discussions with major medical institutions about sharing user and patient data for a research project.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),  announces its Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018.

Four years ago, I urged the Federal Communications Commission  to create what is now known as the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler. This is a dedicated, interdisciplinary team, focused on the intersection of broadband, advanced technology, and health. I am grateful to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for his continued commitment to the Task Force and his enthusiasm for bridging the digital divide in health care. 

[Commentary] Lack of digital connectivity carries extremely high costs, but few areas reveal the opportunities and challenges of rural digital divides better than health care. Broadband has the power to conquer distance. With telemedicine, we can extend the reach of care, making it possible for treatment, even hours from the nearest hospital. Initial analysis shows that rural “cancer hotspots” also face major gaps in broadband access and adoption.

Simply and admittedly boldly put, broadband is, I believe, the public health tool, of, our, time. New thinking, innovative cross-sector collaborations, these hold significant promise, for the future of broadband and improved health, in rural America. And I have absolutely no doubt, that government can be a powerful catalyst, to achieving these shared goals for rural America, but as important a player as we are, we cannot do it alone. Each of you in this room, has got to lock arms with us.

The gap between haves and have-nots in American health care isn't just driven by insurance and access to doctors. It’s exacerbated by a deep structural problem: Many poor people suffer from long-term ailments that the system has little financial incentive to treat. But now a New York City start-up thinks it can use Google-level tech savvy to help make progress on that challenge—and save the government money.