Rural telehealth care gives those living in rural or remote communities quality access to healthcare. For instance, a teleoncology program study found that 95% of patients in Tennessee who initially had in-person visits and used virtual visits for half of their visits said the experience was as good as or better than in-person. This summary focuses on three 2023 remote patient monitoring (RPM) and rural telehealth studies.
- Socioeconomic Determinants of Remote Patient Monitoring Implementation Among Rural and Urban Hospitals
- Telehealth Challenges for California Rural Hospitals in Reaching Latino Populations During COVID-19
- Telehealth Challenges for California Rural Hospitals in Reaching Latino Populations During COVID-19
1) Remote Patient Monitoring Implementation in Rural and Urban Hospitals
This study analyzed data from 4,206 hospitals, of which 1,681 were rural and 2,525 were urban. Rural hospitals near households of lower socioeconomic status had a 33.5% lower likelihood of adopting remote patient monitoring for chronic care management in the highest socioeconomic group. Urban hospitals near households with the lowest socioeconomic status had a 41.9% lower likelihood of adopting RPM for chronic care management than those with the highest socioeconomic group.
Similar trends in accessibility were found with remote patient monitoring for post-discharge services in urban hospitals. The study’s findings highlight the importance of hospital responsibility and state and federal policy approaches. There is a need to ensure equitable access to remote patient monitoring services for patients with lower socioeconomic status.
2) Rural Telehealth and California Hospitals During COVID-19
Research surrounding rural telehealth and remote communities for California communities during the COVID-19 pandemic identified three concerns:
- Lack of staff
- Need for coordinated health services
- Operational and facility issues
For example, Adventist Health Saint Helena Hospital, a rural hospital in northern California, expanded telehealth services during the pandemic. The hospital has a high number of rural and Latino populations. Therefore, the focus of rural telehealth here emphasizes social response and equitable access to health services.
The hospital expanded digital health services for non-digital mobile health centers, testing, and vaccination clinics to help those with limited digital access and language barriers. Days before the pandemic, St. Helena Hospital Foundation converted its mobile health van into a platform to provide COVID-19 vaccines. As a result of these approaches, this case study offers data on rural telehealth. Furthermore, it explores how to develop technologies, community partnerships, and a community approach to meet health needs in future natural disasters.
3) Rural Telehealth: A Veteran’s Health Study
This study reviewed the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic medical record data to identify adult patients with chronic heart failure from 2012 -2017. In addition, the study aimed to compare longitudinal healthcare utilization rates, evidence-based treatment, and mortality between rural and urban-dwelling patients with congestive heart failure.
One-third of the patients with heart failure resided in a rural area. The rural patients used VHA facilities at similar or higher rates for primary care and care delivered with rural VA remote monitoring and VA virtual care through telehealth These patients showed declining VHA inpatient and urgent care use rates over time.
There were no meaningful rural-urban differences in treatment receipt among patients with heart failure. The chronic and non-chronic heart failure mortality rates were similar between rural and urban patients in each cohort. The findings suggest the “VHA may have mitigated access and health outcome disparities typically observed for rural patients with CHF.”
Further Advancements in Rural Telehealth
Much work is being done to integrate remote health solutions such as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) telemedicine to connect remote communities with specialized medical assistance during critical situations. This innovation can be lifesaving in regions where prompt healthcare is limited. By enabling paramedics in rural areas to collaborate virtually with medical experts, EMS telemedicine ensures swift and informed decisions for urgent cases. This integration addresses the immediate medical needs of remote populations and complements the broader landscape of rural telehealth, creating a comprehensive and responsive healthcare framework.
You can find more telehealth research topics, recent studies, and research in the Tenovi blog.
