On November 19, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dedicated over $417 million to the construction of 69 statewide or regional broadband telehealth networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories under the Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP). The networks will deliver services efficiently, reduce costs and travel time for consumers, decrease medical errors, and enable health care providers to share critical information. In addition, participants are required to implement, where feasible, health information technology standards as set forth by HHS. Five of the 69 funded networks are located within the western states and territory. These funded networks are: the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, the California Telehealth Network, the Oregon Health Network, and the Pacific Broadband Telehealth Demonstration Project. For more information, go to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/rural/rhcp.html

On January 28, 2008, the Center for Telehealth and E-Health Law (CTeL) will be presenting a Brown Bag lecture on Credentialing and Privileging. Registration is free, and participation is possible through the Internet. CTeL will be hosting a Brown Bag lecture once a month on a topic related to telehealth. For more information, visit www.ctel.org