More than ever, success in the modern world depends on adaptation to new technologies. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of health care. If the United States fails to advance its digital health care industry well beyond its current state, it will not remain the world's leader in health care.
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on a bipartisan basis to increase funding for the Universal Service Fund's Rural Health Care Program by $171 million annually. The goal of the funding increase is to help rural health care providers develop a “telemedicine” infrastructure that targets rural citizens who lack easy access to medical services. As my colleague Matthew Glans notes, “Telemedicine is the use of information technology to remotely diagnose, treat, or monitor patients.
