Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, on July 11 revealed the agency's plan to establish a $100 million connected care pilot program.
The program, which would support the use of telehealth for low-income Americans, spun out of a visit to Mississippi Mr. Carr took six months ago, during which he learned about a remote patient monitoring trial that improved medical outcomes for diabetes patients living in rural areas.
Since his visit, Mr. Carr said he has met with telehealth experts and visited rural healthcare facilities to determine how the FCC can support the movement toward "connected care."
"We're seeing a trend in telehealth towards connected care everywhere," Mr. Carr said in the FCC's July 11 statement. "At the FCC, we can play a constructive role by helping to support the connectivity and deployments needed to ensure that all communities get a fair shot at benefiting from new telehealth technologies."
The FCC will vote on a notice of inquiry related to the proposed pilot program at its open meeting in August.
During the meeting, the FCC will seek comments on budgeting $100 million from the Universal Service Fund, targeting telehealth services to low-income patients and veterans, and supporting a limited number of connected care projects during a two- or three-year period.