Today, telehealth software and telemedicine solutions play a key role in improving rural health care. They help organizations and care providers in rural areas expand their service portfolios and deliver better care services. That said, telehealth is still at a nascent stage, and there are plenty of challenges to overcome.
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What This Article Covers:
What Is Telehealth?
Telehealth is a care delivery method that enables providers to deliver clinical and non-clinical services to patients without an in-person visit. Simply put, it assists clinicians in providing care remotely. Care providers primarily deliver care through online mediums such as video and phone calls.
It works hand in hand with telecommunications technology and devices to deliver care. Clinicians set up video calls on mobile phones, laptops and tablets with a working internet connection. With the advancements in telecommunications equipment, telehealth will continue to expand its horizons to rural areas with limited medical exposure.
Telehealth uses digital patient information and communication devices to deliver care and manage health. The emergence of health information technology is a boost for telehealth as all patient data is available digitally now. This helps doctors access necessary information during an online appointment.
Today, telehealth trends are growing steadily in the market and solidifying its position as a crucial care delivery medium for the future. The COVID-19 pandemic gave telehealth a much-needed boost. Since then, hospitals and medical practices have welcomed telehealth with open arms.
The goals of telehealth are as follows:
- Make health care accessible to all. People living in remote areas and suburbs can access the best care possible.
- Stop the spread of infectious diseases with reduced in-person visits for consultations.
- Deliver primary care for several health issues.
- Make services attainable for immobile patients and older age groups unable to commute.
- Improve coordination of care between patients and providers.
- Monitor patients’ health conditions and record vitals remotely.
- Enable patients to make decisions and manage their health care.
Effect in Rural Areas
The health care industry experienced a shift to telehealth and telemedicine in 2020. This boom in remote health care mediums brought the disparity of medical access between urban and rural populations to light.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that people in rural areas have a lesser life expectancy rates than urban residents, touting the importance of telehealth in rural communities.
The CDC states unintentional injury, heart attacks and diabetes as some of the leading causes of death in rural areas. A subset of telehealth, telemedicine in rural areas is proving to be useful for doctors as well.
With telehealth, care providers are addressing the pressing health issues of rural people through video calls and audio calls. Government and independent agencies are setting up smaller clinics in suburbs that connect patients with specialists practicing in city hospitals.
People living in rural areas often find themselves miles away from cities and more specialized care. But telehealth appointments enable patients to attend virtual consultations with specialists before determining if they need to travel for treatment.
Rural Appeal
Telehealth successfully solves impediments by connecting patients to specialist care remotely. Patients can reach the best quality care providers through household phones and laptops. Not only does this reduce cost, but it also encourages patients to reach out for treatment.
Leveraging telehealth solutions, such as HIPAA-compliant video conferencing software, local hospitals can earn additional revenue as the patient does not have to bear the costly services of a multi-specialty clinic. Telemedicine in rural areas also paves the way for unnecessary patient transfers to city hospitals, helping rural clinics make a foothold in the community.
The most important win of telehealth in rural areas is enabling underserved communities to access the best care available in the country. A COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition study on the impact of telehealth concludes patients are increasingly shifting to telehealth for emergency medical services and doctor’s appointments.
From a provider’s standpoint, using telehealth is far more cost-effective than implementing a specialty clinic in rural areas.
Primary Benefits
The present health care system has shifted to a value-based care system, focusing highly on medical adherence and reconciliation. In rural areas, telehealth is creating a revolution with its myriad benefits and convenient usage.
From cost reduction to easy access to top health care specialists, it is creating a transformation in the health care spectrum. Newer care plans and programs benefit patients and veterans, allowing them to seek the best care possible.
Let’s look at some of the benefits telehealth provides in rural areas without further ado.
Overcome Geographic Barriers
One of the most critical aspects of telehealth in rural areas is accessibility. It helps bridge the geographical boundaries between patients and doctors. It delivers care in faraway locations with a shortage of transportation options.
With telehealth software, you can enable patients to attend regular appointments with doctors without leaving their living rooms. Further, it improves the economic stability of rural populations by saving additional travel and doctor visit costs.
Improve Patient Outcome
Telehealth provides specialty practitioners the advantage of seeing patients in their home environment. This can provide essential insights on the cause of health conditions. In addition, they can also monitor patient health remotely, providing vital intervention in emergency cases.
Further, virtual appointments allow patients to miss less work, leading to an increase in satisfaction.
Make Care Easier to Access
With telehealth, patients do not have to travel long distances for a doctor’s appointment. They can access care from the living room sofa. Telehealth is making health care accessible.
No longer does anyone need to postpone an important meeting or secure baby care for a checkup at the clinic. Not just general physicians but patients can also avail care services from specialty doctors.
Increase Medication Adherence
Patients with chronic ailments and on strict medication regimens require extra monitoring. Rural areas often lack well-equipped clinics and hospitals for monitoring patients.
Telehealth bridges this gap with telecommunication devices and fitness trackers. Clinical workers can regularly track patient vitals and make informed decisions regarding care. Further, medical workers can send emails and timely notifications to remind patients of medications and upcoming appointments.
Challenges
Telehealth in rural areas faces several challenges in the path to implementation. For starters, people residing in the areas are likely to have lower wages and limited budgets for health care. The role of Medicaid in rural areas is important, but only so long as it covers new medical options like telehealth.
Today urban areas have the best health care money can buy while rural ones do not have specialized treatments such as dermatology and psychiatry. This disparity is causing health care issues to rise in rural areas. Let’s look at some of the critical challenges telehealth in rural areas faces.
Low Rates of Acceptance
Telehealth proliferation in urban and rural areas has skyrocketed. The attractive benefits, cost-saving options and convenient care are some of the reasons why telehealth is a hit.
New technologies tend to spread more rapidly and integrate into daily life quicker in urban areas before spreading out to more rural areas. This can be due to lack of finances, lack of knowledge or both, which poses a steep barrier for telehealth reaching those who could benefit most from it.
Network and Internet Connections
Telehealth technologies and internet connections walk hand in hand. Devices such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops cannot connect patients with doctors without a good network.
Most rural areas are running years behind in terms of internet connection with good bandwidth. However, many vendors offer solutions that automatically adjust based on the available connection. For example, a video call may automatically switch to voice when bandwidth is limited.
Licensure
For health care workers, a medical license is a must. Every aspiring medical worker must undergo a cumbersome process to get their medical licenses for the state they want to practice in.
The challenge that many workers face is that the license is only applicable in a particular state. It’s still a matter of debate how to regulate telehealth practices in terms of licensing and practicing across states.
Even if you’re not trying to expand your reach, someone from another state may find your telehealth services and reach out for an appointment.
Although this challenge may not particularly translate to telehealth in rural areas, it’s crucial to consider before breaking into telehealth for any reason.
Bottom line
From the very dawn of medical sciences, rural areas have faced numerous challenges in accessing care. With state and federal government support for telehealth programs and insurance policies, care is slowly spreading in rural communities. In this regard, telehealth in rural areas is a huge success as people get equal care opportunities regardless of distance.
Barriers such as internet connectivity and lack of technology education among the masses are still prevalent. However, you can provide resources on learning to leverage telehealth technology.
That said, various gaps need to be addressed by the health care providers. Several rural communities report inconsistent payment processes and reimbursement models stand in their way.
As we continue navigating this modern medical world, health care providers must catch up and prepare newer policies to help people get care easily. With technologies booming, telehealth in rural areas stands to be successful but only if authorities lend a helping hand.
Does your organization use telehealth services? How have you reached rural areas? Let us know in the comments below!