Pai on Broadband Acce and Spectrum for Healcare

NEWS

Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th Street, S.W.

Internet:

http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D. C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.

See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:

January

31,

2013

Matthew

Berry,

202-418-2005

Email:

matthew.berry@fcc.gov

STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI

ON HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY PRESENTATION

This afternoon, I look forward to attending the telemedicine demonstration that will be

held in this room. It will include a simulated patient examination with the Coffee Regional

Medical Center in Bacon County, Georgia, which is a participant in the Rural Health Care Pilot

Program.

The Pilot Program, which was established in 2006, has been a tremendous success.

According to an evaluation done by the Wireline Competition Bureau last year, the Pilot

Program has result[ed] in improved quality and lower costs of health care in rural areas. To

give just a couple of examples, one Pilot Program participant in Pennsylvania has reported that it

is now able to provide tele-stroke services for neurology patients within minutes, as opposed to

hourspotentially a life-saving difference for stroke victims. And in South Dakota, another

Pilot Program participant has told us that its Electronic Intensive Care Unit program has

substantially reduced the average number of days that a patient must stay in the ICU.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at the FCC who worked so hard in

creating and implementing the Pilot Program. I am also pleased that we voted last month to

establish the Healthcare Connect Fund, building on the lessons learned from the Pilot Program. I

am confident that in the years to come, we will see measurable improvements in patient care

across rural America, thanks to the Fund.

Of course, progress in this field isn't limited to the wireline side of the ledger. Turning to

the area of mobile health, we in the federal government should encourage such innovation, not

stand in the way. Last month, for example, the Food and Drug Administration approved an

application developed by AliveCor that can turn your iPhone into an electrocardiogram; you can

even download it from iTunes. This is certainly good news, but it is worth noting that the

application was made available for veterinary use months earlier. It goes without saying that

safety is always a priority. But our goal should be for humans to benefit from potentially life-

saving innovation no later than their pets.

For the innovation in telehealth is improving our lives so markedly that innovations

sometimes seem like the stuff of science fiction. For example, Qualcomm is currently

sponsoring a $10 million competition to stimulate the development of a Tricorder, a mobile

health device that should be familiar to all Trekkies out there. This device would be capable of

capturing key health metrics and diagnosing a set of fifteen diseases. This competition has been

endorsed by all five captains from the various Star Trek television series, and I look forward to

seeing the devices that are produced.

LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-pai-statement-health-care-tec...
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