“The Federal Communications Commission will soon move to issue a final order for its new $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program, which is intended to boost the use of telehealth for underserved patient populations.”
“In July, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting public comment on the initiative aimed at cost savings and improved patient outcomes associated with connected care.”
“Historically, the FCC’s programs have focused on connecting high-speed Internet services to brick-and-mortar healthcare facilities in rural parts of the United States. In fact, the FCC currently has two programs that provide about $600 million in annual support specifically dedicated to that objective.”
“However, the agency’s proposed Connected Care Pilot Program seeks to tap telehealth to enable connected care through remote patient monitoring and mobile health apps accessed by patients on smartphones or tablets—regardless of where they are located…”
“According to Carr, who came up with the idea for the Connected Care Pilot Program, limited trials to date by other organizations—such as the Veterans Health Administration—are showing significant cost savings and greatly improved patient outcomes from connected care technologies…” Read the full article here.
Source: FCC close to finalizing $100M telehealth pilot program – By Greg Slabodkin, February 12, 2020. Health Data Management.
