AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) takes the next steps in funding the COVID-19 Telehealth Program (Program) by expanding the administrative responsibilities of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). The Commission finds it in the public’s interest to direct USAC…

Media Contact:
Katie Gorscak
katie.gorscak@fcc.gov

Program Contact:
Round2TelehealthApplicationSupport@usac.org

For Immediate Release

FCC ANNOUNCES ROUND 2 COVID-19 TELEHEALTH PROGRAM APPLICATION PORTAL WILL OPEN ON APRIL 29
Round 2 of Telehealth Program Will Provide an Additional $249 Million to Support Health Care Providers and Patients In All 50 States, DC, and Territories

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2021—The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition…

Federal Communications Commission   FCC 21-39

Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of

COVID-19 Telehealth Program

Promoting Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers
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WC Docket No. 20-89

WC Docket No. 18-213

REPORT AND ORDER AND ORDER ON…

FCC ADOPTS REPORT AND ORDER TO IMPLEMENT ROUND 2 OF COVID-19 TELEHEALTH PROGRAM

Unanimous Vote Creates Rules and Procedures to Move Forward with Round 2 of Program to Support Health Care Providers During the Pandemic

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WASHINGTON, March 30, 2021—Today, the FCC voted to formally adopt a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration to establish Round…

Telehealth is a way to receive healthcare services remotely through various communication technologies. The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) defines telehealth as “the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status.”¹How and why you use telehealth will depend on your health needs and goals, specific conditions, and physician’s office protocols. You may engage in telehealth using secure video conferencing, live streaming, telephone calls, storing or sending text…

This week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act to the U.S. House of Representatives. Telehealth has expanded both at the individual provider and hospital system levels through support from federal and state emergency measures aimed at increasing access during the pandemic. Without legislative intervention many of these measures will disappear when the public health emergency ends. With this in mind, the Bill’s sponsors are focused on ensuring telehealth’s widespread accessibility for patients across the nation continues after the COVID-19 crisis subsides. 

Monday, February 1, 2021

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (the “PHE”) first declared on March 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued blanket Section 1135 Waivers to expand, albeit on a temporary basis during the PHE, the range of healthcare professionals who can provide Medicare-covered telehealth services to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and other non-physician practitioners.  (See also, CMS Fact Sheet, “Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet” (March 17, 2020) and CMS’s “

Keeping eyes on patients at a distanceby Tiffany HornThursday, February 11th, 2021

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) programs are leading the charge to leverage mobile technology and portable digital devices to successfully monitor patients outside of the hospital. At first glance, remote patient monitoring programs offer an inventive, innovative solution to reduce hospital admissions and overall health care costs; however, the role clinicians play by assessing and evaluating patient data to increase patient engagement is essential to yielding better health care outcomes.       

Discovering Opportunities to Improve…