On September 24, the mHealth Task Force, released its recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which recommends greater FCC involvement in mobile health and greater coordination with the FDA, ONC, HHS and other federal agencies.
In June of 2012 FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski assembled a group of health care technology experts from industry, government and academia for a summit on mHealth (absent from the assembly were non-academic medical centers). The outcome of this event was the creation of a Task Force by the participants to develop concrete recommendations to accelerate the adoption of mHealth technologies. While mHealth traditionally stands for “mobile health,” this Task Force adopted the term more broadly to refer to mobile health, wireless health, and e-Care technologies that improve patient care and the efficiency of health care delivery.
The Task Force report holds as its overarching goal that by 2017, through FCC leadership with other federal interagency cooperation, mHealth, wireless health and e-Care solutions will be routinely available as part of best practices for medical care. The recommendations of the Task Force are as follows:
- Five year goal: Work with industry and federal partners to reach the mHealth Task Force’s goal that mHealth technology become a routine medical best practice within five years.
- Wireless health test beds: Consider an Order to streamline the FCC’s experimental licensing rules to promote and encourage the creation of wireless health device “test beds” to permit easier testing of mHealth technologies.
- Health care broadband networks: Consider an Order to comprehensively reform and modernize the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, to include rules to permit networks of hospital and health care facilities to jointly apply for RHC Program funds to boost broadband capacity and enable electronic health records.
- Telehealth data: As part of the RHC modernization Order, act to collect richer data on broadband and telehealth applications from RHC Program participants, enabling more targeted support for telemedicine.
- International MBAN spectrum: The FCC’s International Bureau will work with FCC counterparts in other countries to encourage them to make spectrum available for MBANs and to discuss possible spectrum harmonization efforts to allow for medically safe cross-border patient travel and better economies of scale for device makers.
- Outreach plan: Develop and execute a health care stakeholder outreach plan to those who may not be aware of FCC opportunities and procedures.
- Health Care Director: Renew the search for a permanent FCC Health Care Director, to function as the central point of contact to external groups on all health-related issues.
If you have questions regarding the Task Force report, the FCC’s RHC rulemaking or the National Broadband plan, please contact Michael T. Batt at mbatt@wp.hallrender.com or 317-977-1417.
