In late 2017, the debate over net neutrality once again reached a boiling point, as FCC chairman Ajit Pai led a repeal of US net neutrality policy. Here, assistant professor and graduate program director Thomas Martin writes on the importance of net neutrality on healthcare in the United States and makes recommendations for the future of internet policy in regards to healthcare.

Recent changes by the Federal Communications Commission have signaled a growing change in how the internet is regulated and monetized.

The ongoing movement towards paid prioritization when moving data across networks represents a substantial financial windfall to many corporate organizations, but at the peril of serving the few vs. the masses.

In the past, internet service providers (ISPs) were able to manage networks as they saw fit, a concept we are all familiar with when looking at data plans for cellphones or broadband service at home. If a customer or end user was utilizing services at a higher rate, then speed and service to that customer could be reduced over time, a concept often referred to as throttling.

However, the types of data they were accessing would not be prioritized in any way. The concept over time became known as net neutrality—the idea that all information traveling across networks would be treated the same, but the rate at which the end user consumes information would be monetized.  This happens all the time in public utilities, services where consumption is set by a rate or fee. I don’t pay more to have more electrons delivered to my house, but I have a constant supply and access since electricity is treated as a utility. 

The FCC has recently voted to not treat the internet as a public utility, turning over rules that have sought to ensure fair and open access to internet services and treated all information in the same manner.

While not obvious at first, there are substantial impacts on healthcare institutions, patients and caregivers alike, such as the need to exchange and share information with health information exchanges (large repositories of information) as sources of data to avoid unnecessary testing or other cost saving measures.

Telemedicine services rely heavily on broadband access to ensure stable connections and patients. Robotic surgery use continues to rise and is also reliant on dependable internet service.

As Congress and the FCC continue to evaluate the next era for the internet, policymakers should be cognizant of the following: Health and healthcare data should not be subjected to paid prioritization or discrimination and should not be encumbered from movement. Avoid adding additional costs to the healthcare system which is mandated to exchange information by pursuing paid prioritization.

Any rulemaking that impacts critical public services should ensure safe harbor from differential pricing and ongoing dialogue on how to best support these institutions.