Benefits Of Telehealth In Rural Areas

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Published Jan 11, 2023

Benefits of Telehealth in Rural Areas

Developments in procedures and prescription drugs promise improved treatments and care — but medical advancements mean little for patients who can’t access them.

Rural patients — those who live far from specialists, services, and a wide pool of medical providers — have long lacked access to essential medical care. However, telehealth in rural areas is expanding healthcare access to connect patients and healthcare providers with the resources they need to diagnose, treat and manage illnesses and injuries, making care more affordable and accessible for all.

Public Health Telemedicine and Telehealth: What Do the Terms Mean?

Telehealth includes anything electronic that is related to health, such as educational websites, fitness apps, and electronic health records. Under the umbrella of telehealth, telemedicine pertains to clinical endeavors — for example, a mobile app that transmits medical information.

Dr. Lois Ritter, teaching associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, has spent decades studying telehealth and telemedicine for rural communities. She finds the work complex and rewarding, given that telehealth is continually adapting to changes in policy. “Even the [U.S. health] agencies within the federal government define [telehealth] differently,” she says.

Dr. Ritter wants students to know that telehealth and telemedicine are essential components of public health, with the potential to provide cost- and lifesaving care to the 46 million U.S. residents living in rural areas. “[Telehealth] needs to be incorporated into the public health system — not as an afterthought [but] in the initial planning,” she says.

What Are the Benefits of Telehealth in Rural Areas?

Americans living in isolated rural settings — comprising around 14% of the entire U.S. population, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — often face difficulties in accessing quality health care. People living in rural communities are more likely than city dwellers to be unemployed and low-income, and approximately 1 in 4 are covered by Medicaid. In 2019, the USDA reports, rural poverty was 15.3% — significantly higher than urban poverty at 11.9%.

With telehealth, people living in rural areas may not need to leave their homes to communicate with healthcare professionals and get the care they need at an affordable cost.

One of the primary benefits of telehealth in rural areas is that it can help rural Americans overcome significant barriers to care, such as:

Geographic distance from specialists and treatment centers
Minimal public transportation
Healthcare provider shortages

Closing the Distance Between Patients and Providers

Many rural areas simply lack the healthcare resources to support a population’s diverse health needs. Over 120 rural hospitals have closed in the past decade, including 19 in 2019, according to the Center for Health Care Strategies.

Beyond hospitals, people in rural areas may live half a day’s drive away from specialized healthcare facilities, such as dialysis centers, diagnostic imaging and radiology clinics, mental health and addiction treatment centers, nursing homes, and orthopedic rehabilitation centers, to name a few.

Telehealth can connect rural patients with specialists who can monitor their conditions through video-based appointments, apps that can track biometrics (such as heart rate), and many more emerging healthcare technologies.

Eliminating Costly Commutes

Historically, people from rural communities have needed to commute to receive care. When the only available healthcare professionals are hours away in cities, taking time off work, finding child care, and arranging for transportation can be an expensive logistical endeavor. Public transportation from rural centers to urban ones is often nonexistent or enormously cost-prohibitive (sometimes as much as hundreds of dollars for a 90-minute taxi ride).

All too often, individuals make hefty sacrifices to seek care so far from home. “I’ve spoken to families who have slept in their cars in 20-degree weather because they can’t afford a hotel, even with the discounted hotels from the hospital,” Dr. Ritter says. “They want to be with their loved one in their time of need.”

With telehealth appointments, families like these no longer need to uproot their lives just to seek medical care in urban centers hours away. Providing telehealth in rural areas allows individuals and families to receive care in the comfort of their homes, thereby eliminating costly commutes.

Overcoming Health Care Worker Shortages

Rural communities tend to have a more limited workforce of healthcare professionals, with national healthcare worker shortages especially affecting rural areas. In fact, these communities represent nearly 65% of primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) in the U.S., according to the USDA.

How Has Telehealth Changed Since COVID-19?

Prior to the pandemic, all state Medicaid programs paid for some forms of telehealth services, such as video calls with primary care physicians. However, Medicaid did not cover many forms of telemedicine, such as “audio-only” phone calls.

With the rise of COVID-19, Medicaid programs expanded access to telehealth. Emergency policies loosened restrictions, which in turn opened greater possibilities for providers to support patients in rural areas. Some key changes include:

Expanding reimbursable services: Allowing for a wider range of telehealth and telemedicine services (including “audio-only” phone calls) to qualify for Medicaid reimbursement
Payment parity: Eliminating the need for states to seek federal approval to reimburse telehealth services at the same rate as in-person services
Out-of-state provider licensing: Enabling providers to meet with patients across state lines via telehealth

Additionally, loosening telehealth reimbursement and licensing restrictions supports healthcare providers who choose to work with rural populations. Dr. Ritter explains that providers who may have felt isolated before telehealth options were available now have opportunities to consult remotely with specialists across the country when providing care to rural communities — creating a greater support network for doctors, nurses, and clinicians.

Improving Patient Outcomes with Telehealth and Telemedicine

Telehealth has the ability to bridge the divide between rural communities and specialized healthcare providers. The U.S. medical system shouldn’t force people who live outside cities to uproot their lives to seek care. Telehealth, when fully incorporated into the thoughtful design of public health interventions, has the potential to allow people to pursue health care services in affordable and dignified ways.

By enabling people to seek medical services from home — whether preventive or palliative — telehealth and telemedicine make it possible for members of rural communities to stay connected to what matters most to them. “I spoke with a gentleman in his late 80s, and he’s like, ‘I want to die here [at home]. I want to die with my family and pastor by my side. I don’t want to die in someplace where nobody knows me,’” Dr. Ritter says. “You can’t measure that. The humanistic part is unmeasurable.”

An advanced degree program for public health professionals interested in leading the way in research trends, the online Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice from the University of Nevada, Reno is designed to strengthen your knowledge of current issues in public health. Take courses with experts in public health who care about your success, including Dr. Lois Ritter, teaching associate professor. Learn how the online MPH in Public Health Practice program can help prepare you to make lasting changes in public health.

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Recommended Reading:

What Is the Difference Between Public Health and Community Health?

Epidemiology vs. Biostatistics: Understanding Their Roles in Public Health

Why Is Public Health Important?

Sources:

American Academy of Family Physicians, “Study Examines Telehealth, Rural Disparities in Pandemic”

Center for Health Care Strategies, “Telehealth in Rural America: Disruptive Innovation for the Long Term?”

Federal Communications Commission, Mapping Broadband Health in America

Health Affairs, “Survey Confirms Effectiveness of Telehealth in Rural America and Beyond”

Health Resources and Services Administration, Office for the Advancement of Telehealth

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, “Telehealth in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Rural Health Disparities”

Journal of Medical Internet Research, “Telehealth Interventions and Outcomes Across Rural Communities in the United States: Narrative Review”