Net Neutrality Rollback May Hurt Telehealth Growth, Group Says; FCC Disagrees
The FCC rollback of net neutrality regulations "may adversely impact the spread of telehealth as patients and providers may be unable to afford a connection that can sufficiently support a telehealth interaction," said a release from the nonprofit Center for…
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Connected Health Policy Tuesday. It said the developments could "encumber" Veterans Affairs Department policies helping patients "receive services via telehealth in the home and any potential remote patient monitoring efforts." When the FCC adopted its deregulatory order Dec. 14, CCHP Interim Executive Director Mei Wa Kwong reportedly said that allowing differentiated internet access lanes "could hurt telemedicine since it requires a 'pretty robust connection.'" An FCC spokesman responded: "The Restoring Internet Freedom order will support the delivery of broadband-enabled health care by reversing the ban on paid prioritization on the Internet. With Internet-enabled health care apps and services, paid prioritization could be the difference between life and death for patients who require very reliable and fast connectivity for health monitoring, consultation, and service delivery. And we expect that the combination of our transparency requirements, consumer expectations, market forces, and the presence of antitrust and consumer protection laws will protect against potential harms." Kwong told us questions remain about how paid prioritization would work in providing healthcare at home, one of the main benefits of telehealth. "How do you tell [if] the patient is using their connection for health purposes only if they get a set rate for that?" she emailed. "Does someone monitor that usage and aren’t you getting into privacy issues then if it is being monitored? Are separate lines needed in the home, one for health and the other for all other uses? Then are patients required to pay for two lines instead of one?"