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FCC Gives Boost to 'Telehealth'

$417M in grants will bring broadband to rural hospitals

By Jim O'Neill,  Newser User

Posted Nov 21, 2007 12:04 PM CST

(Newser) – High-speed Internet access funded by $417 million in FCC grants will change how healthcare is provided in rural or heard-to-reach areas across the US, bringing top-end clinical and diagnostic resourced to underserved patients and doctors, the Washington Post reports. Some 6,000 clinics, hospitals, research facilities and universities will be part of the three-year pilot “telehealth” network.

Broadband access allows onsite healthcare providers to upload and rapidly transmit everything from patient records to MRIs to doctors hundreds of miles away. The grants will “play a critical role” in how telecom technology transforms healthcare delivery, the FCC said. Congress has been pressing the FCC to expand broadband access to remote areas, where buildout expense generally is higher.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin J. Martin, left, accompanied by commissioners Michael J. Copps, center, and Jonathan S. Adelstein, right, reviews documents as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 1, 2007 before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin J. Martin, left, accompanied by commissioners Michael J. Copps, center, and Jonathan S. Adelstein, right, reviews documents as he testifies on Capitol...   (Associated Press)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin J. Martin, left, looks on as commissioner Michael J. Copps, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 1, 2007 file photo, before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing assessing the communications marketplace relating to the FCC.  The communications system used...
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin J. Martin, left, looks on as commissioner Michael J. Copps, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 1, 2007 file photo, before the Senate...   (Associated Press)
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin speaks during a question and answer session during the Telecommunications Industry Association's Globalcomm conference in this June 5, 2006, file photo.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin speaks during a question and answer session during the Telecommunications Industry Association's Globalcomm conference in this June 5, 2006,...   (Associated Press)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin speaks during a hearing on localism, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007,  at the FCC headquarters in Washington.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin speaks during a hearing on localism, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the FCC headquarters in Washington.   (Associated Press)
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