How Telemedicine Can Help Small Hospitals Increase Community Trust

Breaking Barriers To Rural Healthcare

From a lack of physician coverage and patient access to negative profit margins, rural hospitals face diverse hurdles to positive perceptions throughout the community. While nationwide rates of telehealth continue to rise, access to healthcare in rural areas remains limited. Rates of mortality between rural and urban communities have increased over the past 20 years. Healthcare providers in remote communities can gain the community’s trust by leveraging telemedicine to address physician shortages, health literacy, and more.

Making health your wealth

Solutions must be tailored to the issues and concerns of the area. Specifically, telehealth technology shows promise as a solution to a lack of access in rural healthcare. Telemedicine bridges the gap between rural patients and doctors by lowering barriers to care and limiting a care professional’s time investment. Deploying modern solutions builds a foundation for providing robust medical services across small communities for years to come.

Combating physician shortages with training

Without readily available primary care, the average patient cannot access vital healthcare resources. Approximately 60% of physician shortages happen in rural areas. Insufficient personnel puts pressure on existing healthcare staff, exacerbating worker shortages and threatening the quality of patient care. While recruiting additional healthcare members, workforce training can support current employees. Using alternative providers through telemedicine, working in interprofessional teams, and offering clinic time outside of regular work hours are all strategies that save time and resources.

Education above all

Without a foundation of medical knowledge, many patients choose to go without healthcare. Ensuring patient compliance is vital when addressing knowledge gaps found in remote communities. Small hospitals can foster trust by promoting the importance of healthcare information throughout the community. Accessible resources such as free classes, contraception, and leaflets allow individual patients privacy and information.

Building trust with telemedicine

Small hospitals face unique barriers to providing quality care in telemedicine and traditional face-to-face care. By actively combating physician shortages, providing low-cost care options, promoting healthcare literacy, and empowering patient education, small hospitals can build a bridge between care providers and the greater community.