FCC chair offers support for regional telemedicine advances

By DAVE RICHARDSON, Chronicle Staff Writer

Federal communication officials say they're solidly behind efforts to bring rural health care in Montana into the 21st century.

Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, delivered this message to a conference on telemedicine held at Montana State University Friday.

Advances in telecommunications -- particularly in broadband Internet access -- are already changing the face of medicine.

Telemedicine allows rural doctors instant access to specialists and information that their patients might otherwise have to travel hundreds of miles to get.

Bringing those advances to rural areas around the nation and Montana is a top priority of both the FCC and the Bush administration, Martin said.

"The intersection of health care and telecommunication is not always readily apparent, nor are the challenges those living in rural areas face in obtaining access to health care," Martin said. "That's why this conference is so important."

The high-speed Internet access broadband networks afford is a driving force behind today's economic growth, and has the potential to affect every aspect of American life -- especially health care, Martin said.

Martin also praised regional efforts to expand telemedicine networks.

Montana boasts one of the most successful telemedicine networks in the nation. The Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network is a consortium of not-for-profit medical and mental health facilities in Montana and Wyoming linked by broadband networks, to provide cutting edge health care to patients in communities with only the most basic health services.

"This may not seem like a big deal to those of us who only drive a couple of miles to see a doctor or a dentist," Martin said. "But it means everything to those of us who don't have that luxury, and who may not otherwise have any access to health care at all."

Hospitals and clinics in Gallatin and Park counties are working toward a similar goal.

Martin said the FCC is working to create a business climate friendly to innovation and investment in rural broadband network development, and to provide funding for more rural health clinics to get connected.

"We must make sure no American, particularly in rural areas, is left out of this technological revolution," Martin said.