Congressmen Pressure FDA, FCC Over Wireless Health Regulation
A group of six Republican Representatives sent the Commissioners of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a letter cautioning the agencies against issuing "slow and inconsistent regulations," reports Mobi Health News.
"These new technologies increasingly cross two regulatory structures," the Congressmen state in the letter. "It is critical that the two agencies act in concert to provide regulatory predictability, consistency, and swiftness so that needed innovation in wireless medical technology may thrive."
The Congressmen, Reps. Blackburn, Pitts, Walden, Bilbray, Burgess and Gingrey, call on the agencies to address eight questions:
- joint actions taken after the establishment of a memorandum of understanding in 2010
- any coordination between the agencies when it comes to planning regulatory policies
- regulatory activities underway in either agency
- interoperability standards or coordination activities in development
- actions taken to leverage staff expertise across agencies
- the establishment of "test-beds" to better understand how wireless devices work in health care settings
- coordination of review activities between FDA and FCC
- agency approaches to wireless network infrastructure and the transmission of healthcare data
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Mobi Health News - Republicans put pressure on wireless health regulators