December 04, 2007
New Rural Telehealth Program
Last week the FCC has initiated a pilot funding program to facilitate the creation of a nationwide broadband network dedicated to health care, connecting public and private non-profit health care providers in rural and urban locations.
From the FCC Press Release
Washington, D.C. – To significantly increase access to acute, primary and preventive health care in rural America, the Federal Communications Commission today dedicated over $417 million for the construction of 69 statewide or regional broadband telehealth networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories under the Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP).
Broadband deployment is one of the Commission’s top priorities – particularly in rural America. And nowhere is the need for broadband greater than in rural healthcare, where isolated clinics can save lives by using advanced communications technology to tap the expertise of modern urban medical centers.
The Commission’s RHCPP will support the connection of more than 6,000 public and non-profit health care providers nationwide to broadband telehealth networks. The health care facilities participating in the Pilot Program include: hospitals, clinics, universities and research centers, behavioral health sites, correctional facility clinics, and community health centers.
Telehealth and telemedicine services provide patients in rural areas with access to critically needed medical specialists in a variety of practices. Intensive care doctors and nurses can monitor critically-ill patients around the clock and video conferencing allows specialists and mental health professionals to care for patients in different rural locations, often hundreds of miles away.
More Information:
Rural Health Care Pilot Program Website