Technology | 09.14.20
HHS Issues Plan to Improve Rural Health, Leaning on Telehealth
by Healthcare Dive
Healthcare Dive (09/04/20) Shinkman, Ron
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed a plan to enhance rural healthcare services. However, some experts say the plan falls short of the complete overhaul needed, noting that a number of the directives it includes are already in place. The plan includes steps to expand the availability of telehealth services and to link residents to non-local healthcare providers. In addition, it directs the federal government to provide more than $8.7 million in grant funding for up to 29 providers to provide emergency care consults virtually to rural providers without specialists over the next four years. Telehealth has the potential to help reduce geographic disparities in access to care, but telemedicine relies on digital infrastructure that is still largely not in place in non-metro regions.
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