Healthcare tops the FCC's short list of priorities as the independent government agency gears up to deliver its National Broadband Report on March 17. Some are saying the news could be a boon to the telehealth industry, since, among other things, the FCC is calling for expanded reimbursement for e-care, increased pilot programs, revised credentialing requirements, and clarified regulations for converged communications and healthcare devices. Read »

The wireless industry's trade association is firing up its mHealth campaign to make better known the potential of mobile devices to improve the nation's health care system. Last week, CTIA hosted a policy forum featuring medical experts and government officials, who touted the promise of mobile health applications to drive down costs and to improve the quality of care. The forum took place as the Department of Health and Human Services struggles to define the "meaningful use" criterion attached to the $19 billion Congress appropriated for health IT initiatives in the so-called economic stimulus package. Read »

Mobile health technologies already are transforming healthcare delivery in Africa and other developing areas, where mHealth programs have helped to boost efficiencies and cut costs. Closer to home, various partnership efforts are envisioning a future healthcare system in which there will be fewer custom, one-off solutions. Instead, the experts say these solutions will replaced by a more consistent set of technologies, so that all of these devices and systems can more easily communicate with each other, as their users wish. Read »

mHealth Initiative, Inc. (mHI), which arrives as the natural successor to the Mobile Healthcare Alliance (MoHCA), recently unveiled its comprehensive plan for cost control and improved healthcare through mobile device-based information technology. The Boston-based not-for-profit organization envisions the development of a wide range of healthcare applications on cell phones and other mobile devices and cites them as the future conduit of interoperability for essential health information Read »