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Benefits of Telehealth in Rural Populations
Kansas is considered a rural state in the United States. Merriam-Webster (2012) defines rural theoretically as “open land” or “relating to the country, country people or life, or agriculture”. The U.S. Census Bureau considers rural to be “open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents” (Cromartie, 2007). Nearly 17% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, which is about 80% of all U.S. territory (Cromartie, 2009). What this means that there is more land mass compared to the people inhabiting the land; rural communities have fewer people living in larger, more remote areas. Individuals living in rural communities have different cultures and experiences than those living in urban communities, which can become problematic in regards to healthcare.
Many factors such as sociocultural, financial and structural issues create barriers to healthcare access for individuals living in rural America. Sociocultural factors include self-reliance, education, language and beliefs; financial factors include inadequate health insurance, income and resources; structural issues include the physical distance to travel, ability to travel and time to travel to healthcare facilities or healthcare professionals (Graves, 2008).
For decades, individuals living in rural areas have been considered medically underserved. Access to healthcare is a problem that has been increasing for individuals in rural America due to aging populations, declining economies, rural hospital closures, rising healthcare costs, healthcare provider shortages and difficulties attracting and retaining healthcare personnel and physicians (Bauer, 2002). This population experience more health disparities than t...
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...nities: toward eliminating rural health disparities. Online Journal Of Rural Nursing & Health Care, 10(1), 4-6.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2004). Retrieved June 16, 2004 from http://m-w.com/dictionary/rural
Moffatt, J. and Eley, D. (2010). The reported benefits of telehealth for rural Australians. Australian Health Review. 34. 276-281.
Saqui, O., Chang, A., McGonigle, S., Purdy, B., Fairholm, L., Baun, M., Yeung, M., Rossos, P., Allard, J., (2007). Telehealth videoconferencing: Improving home parenteral nutrition patient care to rural areas of ontario, canada. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 31(3). 234-239.
Sevean, P., Dampier, S., Spadoni, M., Strickland, S., Pilatzke, S., (2008). Patients and families experiences with video telehelath in rural/remote communities in northern canada. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18. 2573-2579.
National Rural Health Alliance (2007). Yearbook and Annual Report 2006–2007 [Electronic version]. Retrieved April 09 from
The economic impact of telehealth is a critical factor to examine when looking at the feasibility of incorporating such technologies into practice. Exploration of economics is also essential as it has been posited that telehealth has the potential to deliver care to individuals that is cost saving in nature (Wade, Karnon, Elshaug, & Hiller, 2010). Furthermore, the estimated expenditure on telehealth services and technology is expected to reach into the billions of dollars (Berger, 2010). However, there are myriad individual elements that may be considered in the broad subject of economics, which complicates determining the economic impact in a parsimonious way (Bergmo, 2009; Wade, et al., 2010).
During one of my undergraduate courses, “Community and Population Health”, I completed a paper on my community and access to healthcare. During the research and community outreach performed to meet the goals of the paper, my eyes were opened to the plight of small communities in regards to access to quality healthcare. This plight has become my passion, and has formed the basis for my vision of the Family Nurse Practitioner role.
Wesson, J., & Kupperschmidt, B. (2013). Rural trauma telemedicine. Journal Of Trauma Nursing, 20(4), pp. 199-202. doi:10.1097/JTN.0000000000000012
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate and discuss healthcare vulnerabilities of the elderly rural population in Baker County, Florida and describe how the nursing profession can address these problems. Rural health has been a complex and multifaceted challenge for government and healthcare practitioners. The elderly who live alone in the county suffer from low socioeconomic status, low health literacy rates, declining cognitive and physical health and lack of healthcare facilities. The health status of this vulnerable group is impacted by rural culture and social values, healthcare policy and funding affecting rural healthcare facilities, distance and lack of transportation, and health literacy.
Shore, J. H., Brooks, E., Savin, D. M., Manson, S. M., & Libby, A. M. (2007, June). An economic evaluation of telehealth data collection with rural populations. Psychiatic Services, 58(6), 830-835.
Prinz, L., Cramer, M. & Englund, A. (2008). Telehealth: A policy analysis for quality, impact on
Sulzbacher, S., Vallin, T., & Waetzig, E. Z. (2006). Telepsychiatry improves paediatric behavioural health care in rural communities. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 12, 285-288.
In consequence, this will limit poor adults finding the proper treatment since many doctors do not accept Medicaid patients. High rates of uninsured populations were associated with lower primary care capacity (Ku et al., 2011). Thus, expanding insurance coverage can support more primary care practices in rural areas and can help equal the gap in primary care positions. The impact of not expanding affects APRN practice by limiting them to practice in areas where they are needed the most. This not only affects APRNs from practicing without a physician supervision but also limit those that need coverage for basic preventive measures to reduce non-paying visits to the emergency room. Ensuring access to care will be contingent upon the ability to attain progress from insurance coverage and primary
Implementing telehealth. support medical practice in rural/remote regions: what are the conditions for success? Implement Sci. 2006 Aug 24;1:18. Epub 2006 Aug 24.
However, it wasn't until I conducted a comprehensive analysis of the underlying factors and mechanisms behind these disparities that I gained a deeper understanding of the issue. Overall, my analysis has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to the health disparities between rural and urban residents. By addressing these underlying factors, we can work towards reducing the health disparities and improving the overall health outcomes of rural
Per the North Carolina Rural Health Action Plan: A Report of the NCIOM Task Force on Rural Health rural areas have limited access to the healthcare that they need because of many different reasons. People that live in rural areas have a community sense of knowing problems in the community and of what will work or not work for their community. Urban areas are the opposite because there is a greater amount of people that
There have been challenges in population health and the reform of health care systems in the United States but the biggest encounter is adapting rural communities to the shifts in national health policies and access to affordable health care. In any country, it is proven that rural communities face many challenges that render into
According to Burke & Weill, telemedicine is the delivery of health care over telecommunication lines (2013). Telemedicine has become increasingly popular in the field of mental health, as it has been providing patients with quick and efficient access to mental health professionals via videoconference, messaging system, phone or email. This technology has been especially appealing for individuals living in remote areas, who otherwise would not have access to mental health specialists. Telemedicine is not intended to replace traditional therapy, but rather offers additional options of convenience and accessibility. There are many advantages associated with offering telemedicine in the mental health field. One advantage to this process would
Imagine the ability to obtain healthcare services from almost anywhere in the world where you have access to a phone or computer. Now, imagine being able to provide nursing assessments, diagnosis, treatments, and recommendations to your patients from your home to almost anywhere in the world. Lauren Stokowski (2008) noted in her article that one fourth of the United States has rural residents. That number may appear small in comparison to the urban residences; however, rural residents have a tendency to to have “higher poverty rates, larger percentage of elderly, and tend to be in poorer health”. Could telenursing be a solution?