Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Telehealth

Rural Residents with Higher Educational Attainment Were More Likely to Engage in Telehealth Activities
Bar chart showing 2015 data on the use of telehealth for health monitoring, health maintenance, and health research by education level for rural residents.
Date: 11/2018
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details

Information on Medicare Telehealth
Report to Congress, as mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act, examining how Medicare patients are using telehealth, particularly in rural areas, with breakdowns by sociodemographic characteristics and primary diagnoses, including mental health issues. Includes an analysis of Medicare claims data regarding high volume services that could be delivered through telehealth, an overview of telehealth models funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and state-level breakdowns of Medicare telehealth data. Discusses who may benefit from telehealth expansion and barriers to expansion.
Date: 11/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details

Rural Individuals' Telehealth Practices: An Overview
Compares rural and urban use of online health monitoring, online health research, and online health maintenance, which includes communication with healthcare providers. Provides breakdowns by sociodemographic factors. Briefly addresses access to technology, including internet availability.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Peter L. Stenberg
Date: 11/2018
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details

Leveraging Telehealth to Support Aging Americans
Reviews the potential benefits of telehealth for Americans 65 and older. Covers remote patient monitoring, federal and state regulations, and best practices from health insurers and healthcare providers. Includes case studies from rural areas.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organizations: AHIP, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care
view details

More Employers Are Paying for Telemedicine, but Enrollee Take-Up Has Been Relatively Low
Analyzes 2018 Employer Health Benefit Survey (EHBS) data regarding telemedicine trends in employer health plan coverage. Includes discussion on telemedicine improving access to healthcare in rural areas. Covers statistics of telemedicine utilization between rural and urban large employer health plan enrollees.
Author(s): Matthew Rae, Cynthia Cox
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details

Pioneering Telehealth in Mississippi: Lessons for Facilities Leaders
Describes the implementation and accessibility of a virtual state healthcare program offering specialized care and public health services to rural communities through telehealth technology.
Author(s): Alex Raubicheck
Citation: HealthSpaces Blog
Date: 09/2018
view details

Leveraging Technology to Promote Smoking Cessation in Urban and Rural Primary Care Medical Offices
Study examining use of telemedicine to promote smoking cessation in 8 New York counties, comparing the effectiveness of automated voice recognition (AVR) messages directed to residents of underserved areas. Analyzes data from 5812 participants based on sociodemographic characteristics, including residence in rural versus urban areas.
Author(s): Martin Mahoney, Deborah Erwin, Annamaria Twarozek, et al.
Citation: Preventative Medicine, 114, 102-106
Date: 09/2018
view details

Weight Loss Success of Participants Residing in Rural and Urban Areas
Compares the weight loss outcomes of residents in rural and urban areas of Arkansas and Vermont participating in an on-line behavioral weight loss intervention, and assesses any rural and urban differences in adherence to treatment goals.
Author(s): Elise Mench, Delia West, Rebecca Krukowski, Jean Harvey
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(4), 396-400
Date: 09/2018
view details

Telestroke Adoption among Community Hospitals in North Carolina: A Cross-sectional Study
Discusses the advantages of implementing telestroke in rural acute care hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), where stroke mortality is higher than in urban settings. Identifies the community and hospital characteristics associated with the adoption of the telestroke approach in acute care hospitals in North Carolina.
Author(s): Christopher M. Shea, Amir Alishahi Tabriz, Kea Turner, Steve North, Kristin L. Reiter
Citation: Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 27(9), 2411-2417
Date: 09/2018
view details

Hepatitis C Within a Single Health System: Progression Along the Cascade to Cure Is Higher for Those With Substance Misuse When Linked to a Clinic With Embedded Support Services
Recognizes the barriers to treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying patient and HCV clinic characteristics associated with the achievement of sustained virologic response (SVR) in a large medical center serving a rural population. Characteristics documented included proximity to the health center, household income and assets, availability of private insurance, medical comorbidities, and patients with recorded substance misuse. Suggests models for expanding access to treatment in rural areas through increased prescribing by primary care providers and through telehealth.
Author(s): J. E. Sherbuk, K. A. McManus, E. T. Rogawski McQuade, et al.
Citation: Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 5(9)
Date: 09/2018
view details