The role of telehealth in achieving a high performing rural health system: priorities in a post-pandemic system
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- James, Joel M., author Mueller, Keith J., 1951- author Constantin, Joanne, author Ferdinand, Alva O., author Knudson, Alana, author Lundblad, Jennifer P., author MacKinney, A. Clinton, author McBride, Timothy D., author Schoenberg, Nancy E., author
- Contributor(s):
- Rural Policy Research Institute (U.S.), issuing body. RUPRI Rural Health Care Delivery Expert Panel, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Iowa City, Iowa] : Rural Policy Research Institute Health Panel, February 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Rural Health Services Telemedicine -- trends Rural Population United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- In October 2020, the RUPRI Health Panel (Panel) published its first assessment of changes in telehealth usage during the Public Health Emergency (PHE), which through waivers and other policy initiatives facilitated dramatic increases in use of video and audio technologies as a means of improving access to medical services. Our focus was (and remains) on use of these technologies by rural residents and providers. At that time, we offered policy and practice considerations focused on preconditions for optimum use of telehealth that remain timely, including the following: (1) Infrastructure: All residents need access to high-speed broadband connections, enabling them to take full advantage of telehealth services. (2) Authority: Rural providers, including rural health clinics (RHCs), rural emergency hospitals (REHs), federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and critical access hospitals (CAHs) should be eligible sites (distant and originating) to deliver telehealth services. (3) Willingness to use: Both providers and patients must be comfortable using telehealth services if that modality is to become a means of assuring affordable access to clinical and public health expertise. Payment and regulatory policies should be responsive to meeting the needs and preferences of end users. (4) Financing: The role of telehealth in providing essential services continues to evolve, and both investment capital and payment policies will also need to evolve. Questions remain regarding appropriate levels of financing that balance expanding appropriate use of services to otherwise underserved populations, improving cost-effective delivery of services currently supported in traditional settings, and creating new profit centers that do not advance access, quality, or affordability of services. The Panel’s commentary in this paper continues to explore these considerations as preconditions, with the benefit of two additional years of experience during the PHE. We do so by using our updated overarching framework, the high-performing rural health system (HPRHS) of the future to understand benefits of telehealth in improving health equity as affecting four pillars of the HPRHS--access, affordability, community health, and quality. Based on experiences during the PHE, and on new applications of telecommunications technologies, the Panel assesses potential improvements in rural health service delivery, as well as potential unintended consequences that could undermine goals to improve services for currently underserved populations. This paper draws on experiences during the PHE, as reported in the literature. We begin with a review of the potential for expanded use of telehealth in rural America, and use of services during the PHE. Effects on the pillars of the HPRHS will be assessed, with particular emphasis on improving health services for all individuals and population groups residing in rural communities, as evident in pillars we expect would be most directly affected--access, affordability, and quality. We close the review of developments by summarizing changes to the Panel’s four considerations.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (19 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918715986506676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918715986506676