While rural Americans face unique healthcare barriers, the most prominent is geographical. Rural populations are typically dispersed over large areas; many live without a healthcare center for miles. 

Healthcare providers can help bridge the gap using telehealth, which allows them to serve patients from underserved communities, such as those from rural populations. This blog explores how telehealth transforms healthcare delivery and why it may be worth implementing in your practice.

The Role of Telehealth in Rural Healthcare

Telehealth, or telemedicine, refers to delivering healthcare services using digital technologies. Telehealth platforms typically include video conferencing tools to facilitate online consultations between physicians and patients. They also allow easy access to a patient’s medical history through portals.

With telehealth platforms, physicians can facilitate consultations, diagnoses, and even treatment remotely. This technology is especially promising for patients living in rural areas, which are typically underserved.

Obstacles to Quality Healthcare in Rural Communities

On average, rural residents are in worse health and are more likely to experience chronic illness than metropolitan residents. However, they have a significantly harder time accessing essential treatments.

Scarce and Understaffed Rural Facilities

Often facing major staffing shortages, rural healthcare facilities make it difficult for patients to obtain timely medical treatment. Many medical professionals work in metropolitan areas among the best states for nurses, leaving rural areas understaffed and few appointments available. Rural communities have different access to quality treatment depending on this concentration of healthcare experts in highly rated states.

Expanding telehealth services will enable remote communities to link with experts and nurses from the top states for nurses, therefore closing the disparity and enhancing patient outcomes. This strategy improves access to care and helps to reduce some of the strain on already taxed rural healthcare systems.

This magnifies the impact of rural hospital closures, which, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), affected over 100 facilities from 2013 to 2020.

The same GAO report found that affected patients had to travel about 20 miles farther for inpatient care. Meanwhile, those needing specialized services like treatment for alcohol or drug misuse had to travel 40 miles farther.

Expensive Cost of Care

Rural residents may have limited financial capacity due to lower incomes, higher poverty rates, and limited access to health insurance. They might struggle to take time off work and afford gas or public transportation for long trips to appointments. They might also have limited access to job opportunities and lower wages, making it difficult to pay for health insurance or out-of-pocket costs. These limitations prevent them from seeking help.

Many rural patients leave their symptoms unchecked because it can be hard to access healthcare services. Even those who make the trip to a doctor are less likely to return for a follow-up visit, which can compromise the quality of care they receive.

How Telehealth Solutions Respond to the Needs of Rural Communities

Telehealth services can help address the hurdles people face when seeking medical attention. These include logistical factors like physical distance and economic factors like the high costs (time and finances) required to visit the doctor’s office. 

For rural residents, some of the most prominent benefits of telehealth include:

• Increased access to specialists. Rural areas often lack specialists. Telehealth connects patients with specialists in distant locations, which ensures they receive expert care without the added burden of travel.
• Lower costs. Telehealth eliminates the need for time-consuming and expensive trips to distant medical facilities.
• More timely care. Patients can catch and treat conditions earlier with faster access to consultations and specialist advice. This can lead to better health outcomes in the long run.
• More frequent and convenient consultations. Telehealth platforms make it easy for people to schedule and attend consultations online, which may encourage them to seek treatment more frequently.
• Consistent care for those with chronic conditions. Regular consultations and monitoring become easier with telehealth, allowing for better management of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.

The potential of telehealth to bridge the healthcare gap in rural communities is well-documented. In a 2021 Doximity survey, as much as 88% of physicians reported seeing an increase in patient access to healthcare through telemedicine. By enabling remote consultations with physicians, telehealth addresses common barriers to care and improves accessibility.

Why Consider Serving Rural Patients with Telehealth Services

Telehealth technology allows physicians to expand their practice and reach patients in remote locations. This approach benefits rural communities by increasing their options for quality care. Physicians, in turn, gain access to a new patient base.

While implementing this technology in your practice can bring numerous benefits, it will require significant work. You must shop for the right platform, train your staff, and advertise the service to patients. You must also ensure patient data stays secure.

Considering all the work involved in implementation, you must choose a secure and user-friendly platform. Fortunately, telehealth solutions like CureMD make it easy for healthcare providers to set up remote services and deal with out-of-network patients. 

How Telehealth Platforms Can Help

With the right telehealth platform, physicians can experience significant efficiency improvements, automate administrative tasks, and dedicate more time to patient care. Patients also get immediate access to doctors and health records, which can result in better health outcomes overall. 

Healthcare providers can customize their platform to suit their needs. In the case of CureMD, you can get tools for practice management, medical billing, and patient portal management, which can help practices with limited staff and resources streamline operations. With these tools, you can:

• Automate billing procedures to ensure accurate coding and documentation
• Easily manage appointments and manage patient records
• Allow students to schedule appointments and communicate with physicians online
• Provide patients with secure and anytime access to medical records
• Ensure HIPAA compliance while providing physical and mental healthcare online

Best Practices for Implementing Telehealth Solutions

More and more healthcare providers are realizing the potential of telehealth services for practice growth and social impact. Research suggests that adoption is growing fast. From a USD 101.2 billion valuation in 2023, Grand View Research projects the global telehealth market will rise from a 2023 valuation of USD 101.2 billion, growing at a 24.3% CAGR until 2030.

If you are considering offering telehealth services in your practice, you must consider the effect it will have on your patients, your staff, and the efficiency of your operations overall. Here are a few best practices you can keep in mind as you implement these remote healthcare services:

• Ensure the telehealth platform you choose is user-friendly and accessible for patients with varying technical skills.
• Design workflows that seamlessly integrate your telehealth processes with existing processes to ensure minimal disruption.
• Conduct regular testing of telehealth systems to identify and address any technical issues.
• Educate your patients on how to use the platform and provide technical support and assistance to those who need it. 
• Solicit feedback to see where you can optimize your telehealth program.
• Keep up-to-date with evolving regulations, best practices, and technological advancements to ensure your telehealth program remains effective.

Expanding Access to Quality Care Through Telemedicine

Telehealth is a powerful solution to the healthcare gap. Telehealth is clearly the future of rural healthcare, as 83% of patients in the earlier-cited Doximity report indicated they were willing to continue using it.

By integrating telehealth services into your practice, you are not just meeting a present need; you are future-proofing your business and positioning it for sustainable growth. Telehealth platforms like CureMD offer a comprehensive and HIPAA-compliant suite of tools that can help practices of all sizes streamline operations. This allows you to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional care to your patients, no matter where they are from.