FCC Tees Up Broadband Healthcare Public Notice; Clyburn Lauds Item, Colleagues

the country," said a public notice Monday in docket 16-46. "We expect to use this information to identify actions that the Commission can take to promote this important goal. Ensuring that everyone is connected to the people, services, and information they need to get well and stay healthy is an important challenge facing our nation. Technology innovations in clinical practice and care delivery coupled with burgeoning consumer reliance on mHealth and health information technology (or healthIT) are fundamentally changing the face of health care, and a widespread, accessible broadband infrastructure is critical to this ongoing shift." The PN is "an important step in advancing the mission of the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in a statement, thanking Chairman Ajit Pai for his commitment to the task force and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly for his support of the item. “The emerging broadband health ecosystem includes health care providers, public health and social service agencies, innovators and entrepreneurs, academic and research facilities, state and local policymakers, patients and their caregivers, as well as fixed and wireless broadband companies," she said. "I encourage entities from each of these sectors to provide us with detailed comments ... By working together, I know we can narrow the digital and opportunities divide to ensure much needed health and wellness solutions reach all Americans.”