Rural Health Care

We are innovative in our approach to Rural healthcare. We live and work in rural communities and we understand rural folks. We are creating a new way of healthcare delivery in rural towns by combining Home based primary Care approach with Telemedicine, Remote patient monitoring and Chronic Care Disease Management. We are excited about improving health care accessibility and providing better outcomes for their health in rural towns.

Rural Americans face numerous health disparities compared with their urban counterparts. More than 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. A series of studies from CDC is drawing attention to the significant gap in health between rural and urban Americans. Rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than their urban counterparts. Unintentional injury deaths are approximately 50 percent higher in rural areas than in urban areas, partly due to greater risk of death from motor vehicle crashes and opioid overdoses. In general, residents of rural areas in the United States tend to be older and sicker than their urban counterparts.

Children in rural areas also face challenges. A recent CDC study finds that children in rural areas with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders face more community and family challenges than children in urban areas with the same disorders.

These challenges highlight the need for additional attention and resources aimed at improving health in rural America. Rural areas could benefit from improved public health programs that support healthier behaviors and neighborhoods, and better access to healthcare services.

Why are rural Americans at greater risk for poor health outcomes?

Some rural areas have characteristics that put residents at higher risk of death, such as long travel distances to specialty and emergency care or exposures to specific environmental hazards.

Rural Americans tend to have higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity. Rural residents report less leisure-time physical activity and lower seatbelt use than their urban counterparts. They also have higher rates of poverty, less access to healthcare, and are less likely to have health insurance. All of these factors can lead to poor health outcomes.

What can be done to improve the health of rural Americans?

The gaps in health in rural areas can be addressed. For example, healthcare providers in rural areas can:

Screen patients for high blood pressure and make blood pressure control a quality improvement goal. High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Increase cancer prevention and early detection. Rural healthcare providers should participate in the state-level comprehensive control coalitions. Comprehensive cancer control programs focus on cancer prevention, education, screening, access to care, support for cancer survivors, and overall good health.

Encourage physical activity and healthy eating to reduce obesity. Obesity has been linked to a variety of serious chronic illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.

Promote smoking cessation. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States and is the most significant risk factor for chronic lower respiratory disease.

Identify additional support for families who have children with mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders. Children with these issues would benefit from increased access to mental and behavioral healthcare; programs that support parents and caregivers; and increased opportunities to learn, play, and socialize. Because children in rural areas with these disorders more often experience financial difficulties, poor parental mental health, and a lack of neighborhood resources, these children may need additional support.

Promote motor vehicle safety. Rural healthcare providers should encourage patients to always wear a seat belt and counsel parents and child care providers to use age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats, and seat belts on every trip.

Engage in safer prescribing of opioids for pain. Healthcare providers should follow the CDC guideline when prescribing opioids for chronic pain and educate patients on the risks and benefits of opioids and using nonpharmacologic therapies to provide greater benefit.

Ideally, residents should be able to conveniently and confidently access services such as primary care, dental care, behavioral health, emergency care, and public health services. According to Healthy People 2020, access to healthcare is important for:

Overall physical, social, and mental health status
Disease prevention
Detection, diagnosis, and treatment of illness
Quality of life
Avoiding preventable deaths
Life expectancy

Rural residents often encounter barriers to healthcare that limit their ability to obtain the care they need. In order for rural residents to have sufficient access, necessary and appropriate healthcare services must be available and obtainable in a timely manner. Even when an adequate supply of healthcare services exists in the community, there are other factors to consider in terms of healthcare access. For instance, to have good healthcare access, a rural resident must also have:

Financial means to pay for services, such as health or dental insurance that is accepted by the provider

Means to reach and use services, such as transportation to services that may be located at a distance, and the ability to take paid time off of work to use such services

Confidence in their ability to communicate with healthcare providers, particularly if the patient is not fluent in English or has poor health literacy

Trust that they can use services without compromising privacy

Belief that they will receive quality care

This guide provides an overview of healthcare access in rural America, including discussion on the importance and benefits of healthcare access and the barriers that rural residents experience. The guide includes information on:

Barriers to care, including workforce shortages and health insurance status
Transportation
Health literacy
Stigma associated with conditions in rural communities, such as mental health or substance abuse