Telemedicine for Rural America

Last fall, the FCC announced the creation of the Rural Health Care Pilot Program. According to the program's website, its purpose is to

facilitate the creation of a nationwide broadband network dedicated to health care, connecting public and private non-profit health care providers in rural and urban locations.

This program will help bring the benefits of telemedicine to rural communities across the United States. It will fund up to 85% of the costs of constructing high speed networks for use by health care providers, including not-for-profit hospitals, community health centers, rural clinics, and local  emergency medical services.

As the FCC notes, telemedicine is essential for rural America, where access to medical care is limited:

Telehealth applications allow patients to access critically needed medical specialists in a variety of practices, including cardiology, pediatrics, and radiology, without leaving their homes or their communities.

Funding for the pilot program comes from the Rural Health Care Program, which was created by Congress in 1997 to subsidize the costs of telemedicine for rural health care providers. Since its creation, though, the RHCP has disbursed just 10% of its authorized funds. For 10 years, millions of dollars pegged for rural telemedicine has gone untouched.

Now, the FCC estimates the new pilot program will have close to $60 million dollars to help build high speed networks, connect rural health care providers to existing networks, and even help rural communities connect to the public internet. The government is finally beginning to get serious about knocking down the digital divide.

The deadline for health care providers to apply for the program is May 7, 2007. Information about the application process is available here.

Rural Health Care (Cybertelecom)

Rural Health Care Pilot Program Homepage (FCC)

Rural Health Care Program (Universal Service Administration Company)

Rural Health Care Pilot Program Application FAQs