(WASHINGTON, DC) April 3, 2020– Today, the Connected Health Initiative released a statement from executive director Morgan Reed regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Report and Order on the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and Connected Care Pilot:

 “We strongly support the FCC’s goals of enacting telehealth programs and pilots that provide care to Americans in need during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency. With approximately 133 million Americans suffering from some form of chronic illness, and many more at risk from COVID-19, our healthcare system requires a shift to support continuous interaction with and monitoring of patients.

 “Connected health technologies that enable real-time treatments over long distances, the remote monitoring of physiologic data, and other modalities that improve the care continuum, offer the ability to bridge these gaps and provide needed disease prevention and treatment to Americans most vulnerable to both chronic conditions as well as acute illnesses, such as COVID-19 – as long as there is access to a robust broadband network to facilitate patients sharing essential data with their caregivers from their homes. Both the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and Connected Care Pilot represent key efforts to combat the current public health emergency, and to drive a much-needed transformation of the American healthcare system.

 “We thank the FCC, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, for its pivotal work during this national emergency and look forward to assisting the Commission in activating lifesaving telehealth and remote physiological monitoring devices.”

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About CHI: The Connected Health Initiative (CHI) is the nation’s leading consortium of health technology innovators, policy experts and patient advocates. Together, we advance solutions that enable providers and patients to achieve better health outcomes, reduce health costs and foster the adoption of transformative technology throughout the healthcare system. CHI is driven by the its Steering Committee, which consists of the American Medical Association, Apple, Bose Corporation, Boston Children’s Hospital, Cambia Health Solutions, Dogtown Media, George Washington University Hospital, Intel Corporation, Kaia Health, Microsoft, Novo Nordisk, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Podimetrics, Proteus Digital Health, Rimidi, Roche, Spekt, United Health Group, the University of California-Davis, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Center for Telehealth, the University of New Orleans, and the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth.

For more information, see www.connectedhi.com.