UP Gazette

A federal advisory committee, including participation from the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, has made recommendations to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to cut the number of automated, prerecorded calls to hospitals that reportedly disrupt critical services and communications.

“Under my administration, Michigan has been a national leader in responding to illegal robocalls, and I am proud of the role my office has had in creating best-practices guidelines for hospitals, governments and voice service providers,” Nessel said, according to Michigan.gov. “These guidelines will strengthen the protection for hospitals from robocalls that interfere with their operations. I am committed to keeping Michigan at the forefront as our nation continues to develop appropriate measures and protocols to fight this persistent issue.”

The Hospital Robocall Protection Group (HRPG) submitted its report to the FCC on Dec. 14, describing how to limit harassing calls from telemarketers and others. The report is part of legislation called the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act.

One of Nessel's assistant attorneys general is one of only three state officials involved in the effort.

Apparently, hospitals are often bombarded with calls threatening denial of services, social engineering and other illegal scams, interrupting emergency communications and patient privacy.

The report urged that telecom providers, hospital staffers and federal and state agencies work to limit such calls. A copy of the HRPG report is available at the organization’s website.