Report calls for health IT to boost care in rural areas
Rural Americans experience more chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease than urban and suburban residents and have greater difficulties accessing high-quality care, according to a report from the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization.
At the same time, rural Americans are more likely to use technology such as broadband access to access telehealth and support healthier outcomes in rural communities, the Minneapolis-based organization found.
The paper, "Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, Quality and Innovation," explores how health reform implementation, particularly health insurance expansion, will increase the need for innovative care models and points to technology and a stronger role for rural primary care as promising tools.
The report found new projections showing that around 5 million rural residents may join Medicaid and other insurance plans as a result of the planned 2014 coverage expansions—which would represent a higher percentage increase than in urban areas. “Already almost one-third of people in rural areas depend on Medicare and Medicaid, compared with one-quarter in urban areas,” the report added.
According to the organization, coverage is not the same as access to high-quality care. “More than half of rural primary care doctors report that patients they refer to specialty care have to travel an average of about 60 miles. Furthermore, the 2014 coverage expansions will place increased pressure on rural care delivery.”
However, a higher proportion of rural primary care physicians surveyed said they were currently accepting new Medicaid patients (84 percent vs. 65 percent of urban primary care physicians). Looking ahead to 2014, 59 percent of rural primary care doctor respondents plan on accepting new Medicaid patients, compared with only 44 percent of their urban counterparts. Although the report also found that around 11 million rural residents currently live in areas where primary care supply is relatively low but where the increase in the insured population will be high relative to other counties. “Partly as a result, almost half of rural primary care physician respondents expect a primary care shortage over the next few years (compared with 37 percent of urban primary care doctors).”
The report also found that both rural consumers and rural primary care physicians rate the quality of local care lower than do their urban and suburban counterparts. While 63 percent of urban and suburban residents assess the quality of their local healthcare as “excellent” or “very good,” only 49 percent of rural residents do so. Twenty-four percent of rural residents stated their local care is only 'fair' or 'poor,' compared to 12 percent of urban and suburban residents who believe that.
“Given these challenges, there is an urgent need to deploy at scale innovative new rural care models,” the report concluded. The report offered several steps to promote greater use of rural telemedicine and telehealth:
At the same time, rural Americans are more likely to use technology such as broadband access to access telehealth and support healthier outcomes in rural communities, the Minneapolis-based organization found.
The paper, "Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, Quality and Innovation," explores how health reform implementation, particularly health insurance expansion, will increase the need for innovative care models and points to technology and a stronger role for rural primary care as promising tools.
The report found new projections showing that around 5 million rural residents may join Medicaid and other insurance plans as a result of the planned 2014 coverage expansions—which would represent a higher percentage increase than in urban areas. “Already almost one-third of people in rural areas depend on Medicare and Medicaid, compared with one-quarter in urban areas,” the report added.
According to the organization, coverage is not the same as access to high-quality care. “More than half of rural primary care doctors report that patients they refer to specialty care have to travel an average of about 60 miles. Furthermore, the 2014 coverage expansions will place increased pressure on rural care delivery.”
However, a higher proportion of rural primary care physicians surveyed said they were currently accepting new Medicaid patients (84 percent vs. 65 percent of urban primary care physicians). Looking ahead to 2014, 59 percent of rural primary care doctor respondents plan on accepting new Medicaid patients, compared with only 44 percent of their urban counterparts. Although the report also found that around 11 million rural residents currently live in areas where primary care supply is relatively low but where the increase in the insured population will be high relative to other counties. “Partly as a result, almost half of rural primary care physician respondents expect a primary care shortage over the next few years (compared with 37 percent of urban primary care doctors).”
The report also found that both rural consumers and rural primary care physicians rate the quality of local care lower than do their urban and suburban counterparts. While 63 percent of urban and suburban residents assess the quality of their local healthcare as “excellent” or “very good,” only 49 percent of rural residents do so. Twenty-four percent of rural residents stated their local care is only 'fair' or 'poor,' compared to 12 percent of urban and suburban residents who believe that.
“Given these challenges, there is an urgent need to deploy at scale innovative new rural care models,” the report concluded. The report offered several steps to promote greater use of rural telemedicine and telehealth:
- Expanding rural broadband connectivity to enable growth of telemedicine adoption;
- Improving and aligning reimbursement approaches across payors to encourage greater use of telemedicine across rural settings;
- Improving availability of telemedicine technologies to consumers; and
- Reducing regulatory barriers to use of telemedicine technologies and health professionals.