MedPage Today October 7, 2021
— Preserving regulatory flexibility is critical, physicians and industry experts tell Senators
Telehealth can’t succeed without expanding access to affordable broadband internet, witnesses told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Thursday.
But extending the regulatory flexibilities around this access granted under the public health emergency, which are slated to expire when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, is also critical, they said, stressing that the benefits of telemedicine can’t be understated.
Brendan Carr, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), described how innovations like a “smart emergency room” on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota allows a team of emergency department specialists in Sioux Falls, hundreds of miles away, to guide generalists through complicated procedures when there’s no...