TELEMEDICINE experts hope that a multimillion-dollar federal program to boost telecommunications capabilities in rural health care settings will create new avenues of access to medical information and other services.
The $400 million program is mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which enacted the first major revision of US communications laws since the 1930s. The act also included a $2.25 billion initiative to bring enhanced telecommunications to schools and libraries. The initiatives are aimed at the "universal service" system established in 1934 to ensure that all Americans had access to affordable telephone service.
Essentially, the program will help rural health care providers gain access to the Internet and other telecommunications services by discounting rates to charges comparable with those in urban areas. "This could have a huge impact on the way health care is delivered by increasing access," said Darin Johnson, governmental affairs director of the National Rural . . . [Full Text of this Article]
