Many rural areas, which could benefit from telemedicine and remote connectivity for healthcare, have difficulty obtaining affordable broadband access.
The Federal Communications Commission has introduced subsidiaries to companies that attempt to expand broadband access in these areas, but they are still difficult to use because of the infrastructure investments and the fact that many healthcare providers require a dedicated Internet access point. Although the program has an annual $400 million spending cap, only $178 million was spent in 2013 and $65 million was spent in 2014.
A Health Affairs blog post written by Mohit Kaushal, Kavita Patel, Margaret Darling, Kate Samuels and Mark McClellan, who all operate out of the Brookings Institution, asserted this access must be expanded to adequately provide broadband to rural residents nationwide.
The authors recommended simplifying the application process and providing more clarity on the level of support providers can expect and suggested the FCC accept outcome metrics outlined by other agencies to reinforce those evaluation systems. They also suggested expanding the eligibility requirements to include more healthcare providers, as those requirements currently exclude long-term care facilities and other providers outside hospitals, according to the blog post.
The FCC could also publish a Health Care Broadband Status Report ever few years, outlining the current state of broadband access in rural and urban environments, to increase awareness, the authors wrote.
"Broadband access is increasingly important for high-quality health care, particularly care involving telemedicine, and reforming the FCC's programs to support rural broadband access is an opportunity to close the 'connectivity gap' that is a barrier to high-quality care in rural areas," the authors wrote.