Response – Bridging the Telehealth Gap in Disadvantaged Areas

Response – Bridging the Telehealth Gap in Disadvantaged Areas

Hello,

People living in rural areas of the US have a higher likelihood, compared to their urban residents, to die from all the five leading causes of death: stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, unintentional injury, cancer, and heart disease. Access to high-speed broadband internet is a barrier to many rural telehealth programs. The lack of connectivity can hinder the expansion and implementation of telehealth programs that require live video connections between providers and patients. Delayed video feeds and dropped calls can interrupt the delivery of care and lead to telehealth dissatisfaction by patients. Telehealth can be an approach that is effective for counseling and communication. It is also an appropriate way for doctors to monitor patients’ chronic conditions like lung or heart disease. Better monitoring can improve the quality of the patient’s life and reduce admission and death rates following chronic illnesses. Patients’ quality of life can improve with better monitoring and can reduce deaths and hospital readmissions (Steele & Lo, 2013). According to the Rural Health Information Hub (2020), some telehealth programs in rural areas are adapting to the limited connectivity by focusing more on the services that require text messaging and cellular networks to reach their patients. For example, in addressing the limited broadband access in Oregon’s rural area, the Direct-to-Patient Tele-Behavioral Health Services program offers text-based options for its behavioral therapies. Patients who do not have access to the Internet may use text messages to connect with their physicians. Other rural programs include building partnerships that implement long-term solutions to community connectivity. The Online programs for broadband connections include the USDA Community Connect Grants; FCC Connect America Fund; Universal Service Administrative Co Healthcare Connect Fund Program;  USDA telecommunications grant; and the FCC Universal Service Fund.

Reference

Steele, R., & Lo, A. (2013). Telehealth and ubiquitous computing for bandwidth-constrained rural and remote areas. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 17(3), 533-543.

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Response – Bridging the Telehealth Gap in Disadvantaged Areas

Responding to a Discussion Question from Another Peer

I NEED TO REPLY TO THE QUESTION

Thanks for your discussion. How do you think we can bridge the gap for telehealth in the more disadvantaged areas of our nation? How can we provide quality telehealth medicine where reliable internet and technology might not be as accessible?