Commission Document

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REMARKS OF

THE HONORABLE ROBERT M. MCDOWELL

COMMISSIONER

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

BEFORE THE

FIRST ANNUAL

MID-ATLANTIC TELEHEALTH RESOURCE CENTER SUMMIT

IN CONJUNCTION WITH 

THE VIRGINIA TELEHEALTH NETWORK

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA

MARCH 15, 2012

[AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY]
Thank you, Dr. Rheuban, for your kind introduction, and thank you for inviting 
me to join you during the first summit of the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center.  I 
am particularly pleased to be speaking at this location because my beautiful bride of 
nearly 16 years, Jennifer, is an alumna of UVA’s Darden School of Business.   
As many of you know, the FCC’s rural health care program is one of four 
Universal Service Fund (USF) programs that the Commission implements, as directed by 
Congress.  While the rural health care program is the smallest of the USF programs, its 
size certainly does not diminish its value.  As each of you has witnessed first-hand, the 
program is vitally important to those in rural America who are lucky enough to have 
access to participating networks.   
I vividly recall travelling to Alaska during my first year as an FCC commissioner.  
I flew to extremely remote parts of the Alaskan frontier to learn more about the health 
and communications challenges facing Alaska Native villagers and the 
telecommunications carriers that endeavor to serve them.  The most memorable portions 
of the trip were the health clinics.  There I could see how medical images from the most 
remote corners of Alaska were transmitted to specialists in Anchorage.   I learned how 
using telehealth technology can actually save money because, in many instances, having 
that technology close at hand means the patient can avoid flying hundreds of miles to a 
hospital.  
Additionally, air travel or a long car ride can sometimes be needlessly time-
consuming or painful in many circumstances, such as with a child with an ear infection.  
Instead, such a patient can now have his or her ear viewed through an otoscope at a 
village clinic and have the images sent to a doctor anywhere in the world, if needed.  
Often, with a speedy diagnosis and direction from afar, proper care can then be 
administered on site.  
In other scenarios, time may be of the essence, thus eliminating travel as a means 
to obtain diagnosis and treatment.  For example, if a pregnant woman in a remote village 
is in labor, telemedicine can assist in the delivery of the baby.  

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In all of these examples, health care providers are able to use technology to get 
answers quickly so patients can proceed with appropriate courses of treatment more 
efficiently.  Telehealth technologies literally improve and save people’s lives all over 
America every day. 
As many of you are aware, the rural health care pilot program was created by the 
Commission in 2007 as part of the universal service rural health care program, and I was 
proud to support this initiative.  The pilot was designed to provide universal service 
support for cutting-edge infrastructure in order to meet health care needs throughout rural 
America.   The program was by definition a pilot - an experiment - and thus far has 
provided the FCC with an opportunity to learn what works best and what does not.  In 
fact, relevant to the next panel discussion, it is my understanding that the pilot program 
helped fund a telestroke program administered by the University of Virginia.  
 
Meanwhile, in July of 2010, the FCC sought public comment on a number of 
reform proposals regarding the rural health care initiative.  The Commission has not only 
garnered valuable information from those who commented but also has learned a 
tremendous amount from participants in the pilot program.  All of this information will 
be incredibly valuable as the Commission moves to the next step in the reform process.  
Even though the FCC’s rural health care program is the smallest USF program, its 
effects have been impressive.  The program has enabled the health care community to 
improve and expand the health care offered to patients in extremely remote parts of our 
country.  We have also learned that one of the most valuable benefits stemming from our 
efforts is the ability of health care providers to work together to create statewide and 
regional networks that can spark a virtuous cycle of investment, expansion and 
opportunity.  By spurring broadband deployment to remote areas, rural health care 
centers are well-positioned to serve as hubs for new economic growth, job development, 
educational environments and much more.  Such partnerships will promote efficiencies in 
the system and ensure that taxpayers’ funds are being used wisely.  
With all of this in mind, I understand that some of you have been anxiously 
waiting for the FCC to move forward on finalizing our efforts to reform the rural health 
care program.  So have I.  Coincidentally, tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the 
FCC’s National Broadband Plan.  As part of the implementation of that plan, the 
Commission has already reformed some of the other USF programs on a piecemeal basis. 
As I have said for quite some time, in a perfect world, I would have liked to have seen 
comprehensive reform of all the USF spending programs completed at the same time as 
well as reform of the contribution or the “taxing” side of the ledger.  Consistent with my 
long-standing advocacy for truly comprehensive reform, I will continue to press the 
Commission to complete all of its reform efforts, including reform of the rural health care 
program, as quickly as possible.
 
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Thank you for inviting me to speak at your first annual summit.  And, thank you 
for your commitment to using technology that helps provide quality health care to those 
who live in parts of our country that are the most difficult to reach.  
I look forward to continue working with you, especially as the FCC works toward 
reform of the USF rural health care program.  And a special thanks to all of those 
associated with Mr. Jefferson’s “Academical Village” for demonstrating such visionary 
leadership in the telehealth arena.   
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