In ruling, 3-2, in favor of net neutrality Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission declared that there would be no paid prioritization, meaning no "fast lanes" for certain kinds of Internet traffic.
While many in the healthcare industry see that as a positive, with a belief that private companies with deeper pockets should not necessarily receive preferential treatment over those with less means, some argue that defining the Internet as a public utility, in essence, already is a first step toward creating a fast lane for health data.
The rule applies to both wireless and wireline networks, and reclassifies broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.
"Net neutrality is not something I favor totally," Les Lenert, chief research information officer for the Medical University of South Carolina, told FierceHealthIT via email. "The Internet is a public utility--one with increasing medical applications. Bandwidth for the public good should have priority over bandwidth for amusement."
Lenert co-authored a post published last year in the Health Affairs blog on the same topic. In that piece, he and three others fleshed out that argument:
"Network neutrality may still include concepts of prioritizing certain types of information though regulation. If so, health information deserves access to the fast lane. However, the FCC should ensure a neutral approach based on categories of service rather than vendors prioritizing their own applications."
Lenert and his colleagues also co-wrote a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association last year, arguing that network neutrality is central to planning for health information exchange and telemedicine.
Just prior to the vote, Antonio Pizarro, M.D., a physician based in Shreveport, Louisiana, told 1to1 Media that the potential of tiered payments would have been "detrimental" to independent doctors like himself.
"Both physicians who are part of powerful, large groups or health systems and I rely equally on Internet access to provide patient care," Pizarro said. "I should have equal ability to care for my patients as they do. ... The online data of a potentially preferred system should not get better service than that of its competitors for reasons dictated by [Internet Service Providers]."
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, in her statement of support for the net neutrality, mentioned healthcare among a litany of reasons for her vote. "Keeping in touch with your loved ones overseas; interacting with your healthcare provider, even if you are miles away from the closest medical facility ... We are here to ensure that there is only one Internet where all applications, new products, ideas and points of view have an equal chance of being seen and heard," she said.
To learn more:
- here's the FCC announcement (.pdf)
- check out Clyburn's statement (.pdf)
- read the 1to1 Media article