On June 10, 2020, the FCC approved an additional 67 funding applications totaling $20.18 million for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth program has approved funding for 305 healthcare providers in 42 states plus Washington D.C for a total of $104.98 million.
For example, the FCC awarded the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh https://www.chp.edu. a grant from the FCC’s “COVID-10 Telehealth Program totaling $192,500 for the first time to provide telehealth services to organ transplant pediatric patients who are immunocompromised and who are at an increased risk for getting COVID-19.
There are nearly 1,000 post-transplant patients that UPMC Children’s treats on a regular basis and many are from out-of-state. This can make it very difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic to make on-site follow-up appointments. So to meet the need, telemedicine services were ramped up to keep patients healthy and safe.
UPMC Children’s in partnership with Sano Health https://sanohealth.com.au and Real Time Clinic Inc. https://realtimemedclinic.com will receive 400 mobile devices with data connectivity, adherence apps, and post-transplant educational materials to make available to families.
The funding is focused on mental as well as physical health. More than 100 mental and behavioral healthcare providers were awarded funding through the FCC Telehealth program to ensure that all their patients receive the treatment and support needed during the pandemic.
For example the Aultman Hospital in Canton Ohio https://aultman.org was awarded $294,749 for a telehealth platform, computers, network upgrades, and telehealth equipment so patients will be able to access medical care on any smartphone, tablet, or computer. Now patients will be able to receive urgent behavioral and primary care.