How to Build an Effective Rural Virtual Care and Telehealth Strategy

The following is a guest blog post by Lee Horner, CEO of Synzi. Rural healthcare organizations are increasingly interested in implementing virtual care and telehealth solutions in order to better meet the needs of their facilities, staff, and patient population. In danger of closing their doors, rural hospitals are struggling to survive and thrive in a healthcare environment with razor-thin margins. iVantage’s 2017 Rural Relevance Study reports that 41 percent of rural hospitals operate at a negative margin. Poor financial performance is impacting these hospitals’ ability to keep their doors open and serve rural communities. In fact, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) reported that the number of rural hospital closures has risen to 87 in the last 8 years. A rural hospital closure has significant impact to its community. These facilities provide fundamental healthcare services to nearly 57 million people across the country and are often an integral part of the local economy, providing jobs and a tax base for the community. John Henderson, CEO of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH) stated that hospitals are a critical element of a town’s survival: “Hospitals, schools, churches. It’s the three-legged stool. If one of those falls down, you don’t have a town.” Virtual care technology can be a viable delivery option for healthcare facilities and residents in rural communities. To best build an effective virtual care strategy, ru...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Health Care Healthcare HealthCare IT Telemedicine Lee Horner Rural Virtual Care Synzi Telehealth Source Type: blogs