FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has announced the formation of a new Commission Task Force referred to as CONNECT2Health to discuss critical broadband, advanced technology, and health issues. Chairman Wheeler announced that Michele Ellison will be Chair of the Task Force and intends to name her Deputy General Counsel. Previously, she served as Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.
The Task force will consider ways to accelerate the adoption of healthcare technologies by leveraging broadband and other next generation communications services. The Task Force will work with the leadership of the Commission especially with the FCC’s Director of Health Care Initiatives, Chiefs of the Wireline and Wireless Bureaus and the Office of Engineering and Technology. At the same time, the Task Force will collaborate with public and private stakeholders in the healthcare and technology space.
As Wheeler commented, “Broadband itself is not the goal but what broadband enables is the goal. We must leverage all available technologies to ensure that advanced healthcare solutions are readily accessible to Americans in rural and remote areas and to underserved inner cities. By identifying regulatory barriers and incentives, we will be able to build stronger partnerships with stakeholders in the areas of telehealth, mobile applications, and telemedicine.”