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EHR coming to the heartland via broadband

EHR Connection, November 26, 2007

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are partners in a new initiative aimed at bringing the latest healthcare technology to rural America, according to a November 13 HHS press release.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt and FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced the program, which is designed to "further facilitate the development of a connected system for health information exchange," at a meeting of the American Health Information Community.

"The Rural Health Care Pilot Program will facilitate connecting healthcare facilities across the nation to one another and bring the latest health information technology to rural America," said Martin. "Broadband telemedicine programs can reduce costs and travel time for patients, help decrease medical errors, and enable healthcare providers to quickly share critical patient-care information electronically. In coordination with HHS, the FCC will deploy broadband access in rural and urban areas with a particular focus on reaching healthcare providers."

Noting that HIT adoption is impossible without broadband access, Leavitt said the FCC's participation supports the goal of ensuring that most Americans have access to interoperable health records by 2014.

Click here to read the HHS press release.

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