FCC

By  Jonah Comstock 03:08 pm June 19, 2018
Apple has announced a partnership with RapidSOS that will allow iPhones to more easily send detailed location data to first responders in the event of an emergency, the Cupertino tech giant announced yesterday.  “Communities rely on 911 centers in an emergency, and we believe they should have the best available technology at their disposal,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “When every...
By  Jonah Comstock 03:03 pm May 22, 2018
FCC commissioners united on telemedicine. In an editorial in the Boston Globe yesterday, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai and former commissioner Newton N. Minow presented a unified front on the importance of rural telemedicine. In the article, Pai and Minow stressed the importance of high-speed internet in rural communities and interstate licensing compacts to make sure communities can fully benefit. "...
By  Jonah Comstock 01:45 pm December 4, 2017
When Texas passed its telemedicine law in May, Teladoc told MobiHealthNews that the passage of the law would functionally end the long lawsuit between Teladoc and the Texas State Medical Board. Last week that became official, as the telemedicine company officially announced the end of the suit.  "Effective today, Teladoc has voluntarily dismissed the longstanding lawsuit in Texas," the company...
By  Jonah Comstock 10:58 am April 26, 2017
RapidSOS, a 4-year-old startup with roots at Harvard and MIT, has raised $14 million to, at long last, bring 9-1-1 and other first responder networks into the smartphone age. The roster of backers for the round includes three former FCC Chairmen and the investment arms of Motorola and Triple A, in addition to a number of other investors. Highland Capital Partners led the round with participation...
By  Jonah Comstock 04:36 pm February 27, 2017
EpiWatch, the Apple Watch-based ResearchKit study on epilepsy led by Johns Hopkins, shared some early results at a conference last week. The results shared were of 598 participants over 10 months who used the app to track their seizures and provided information to researchers about what was happening before the seizure struck. The most common trigger, named in 37 percent of cases, was stress....
By  Heather Mack 04:16 pm January 26, 2017
Ajit Pai has been named chairman of the Federal Communications Commission raising speculation that many rules and regulations enacted under the Obama administration will be axed, the Hill reports.  Pai, who has long been in favor of deregulation on things like net neutrality and other consumer protection regulations, was the senior republican on the FCC since 2012. He was the associate general...
By  Heather Mack 02:58 pm August 22, 2016
In response to a request from Congress, the US Department of Health and Human Services released its report on the agency’s current telehealth efforts. While it wasn’t within the 180-day deadline Congress gave the department in December, the report was comprehensive in its scope of the potential promise of telemedicine, especially given the ever-expanding availability of services, as well as the...
By  Jonah Comstock 02:55 pm June 27, 2016
At long last, the FCC is almost ready to create a dedicated spectrum band for Medical Body Area Networks, or MBANs. The spectrum was allocated in 2012, making the US the first country to allocate spectrum specifically for connected wearable medical sensors. Now, the FCC has appointed the Enterprise Wireless Alliance to serve as frequency coordinator and the EWA has launched a website where...
By  Jonah Comstock 11:24 am August 10, 2015
CareScape V100, a GE patient monitor. Despite protestations from the American Hospital Association and a cadre of 16 Republican members of Congress, the FCC decided at its August meeting to allow unlicensed devices to use some of the spectrum previously reserved for medical devices. The AHA and the Representatives both sent letters to the FCC in the last days of July, urging them to postpone...
By  Jonah Comstock 09:24 am December 1, 2014
Bradley Merrill Thompson testifying before Congress last year. Bradley Merrill Thompson, a partner at Epstein Becker Green who specializes in consulting with mobile health startups about FDA clearance, is launching a new venture called Aventor that aims to bring discounted regulatory consulting and advocacy services to companies that use mobile health and connected health to help the poor. "In...