Rural Health in America

Posted in Site News. Written by admin on August 8th, 2009

This past week I had the privilege of attending the Arizona Rural Health Association Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was an eye opening experience.

Many of the people who live in rural communities do not have access to basic medical care, let alone resources when they really get sick.

Why does this matter? Did you know that there are 60 million people who live in rural America? That is three times as many people that live in Australia. Here are some other interesting facts:

o Healthcare is the fastest growing segment of the rural economyo Each rural physician generates 23 jobs in the local rural economyo There is an incredible shortage in the workforce to provide medical care in rural communitiesThe baby boomers will need an increasing amount of care as they get older, by 2020 40% of all physician visits will be from baby boomers and the need for knee replacements will go up by 800%.The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) is proving some funds for Indian Health Services and the Veteran’s Administration, however, it is not nearly enough to meet the demand of the rural population.

Most of the diseases American’s suffer from are lifestyle and behavior related and can be mitigated through better eating and exercise regime. Here are the top diseases rural American’s are suffering from:

o Obesityo Diabeteso Coronary Artery DiseaseThe records system in healthcare can be dramatically improved. By moving to electronic medical record systems errors in medicine and care can be minimized. o Mistakes in medical care costs $37.6 billion each yearo A 1999 report focused the nation on medical errors and patient safety and showed that these errors were the 8th leading cause of death in the United States (more than plane crashes)Through medical technology information systems, patients can be proactive in their care; self manage chronic conditions, encourage compliance with treatment and have an integrated system with all of their care providers. Technology will also help residents in rural communities gain acess to urban health providers for care along with the use of Tele-health technology which allows doctors to use a Skype like system to diagnose and treat conditions from remote locations.

If you are in an Arizona rural community and you’d like to improve the health of your town, funds are available through St. Luke’s Health Initiatives. Contact Christy Zavala, Community Development Program manager at christy.zavala@azdhs.gov for more information.

The National Area Health Education Center provides awesome programs to promote education and careers of health professionals in rural communities. If you are interested in a career in health care, this is a resource you should definitely take advantage of.

Also, if you have been laid off and want to improve your skills to move into a healthcare profession, there are wonderful programs offering training through the Phoenix Workforce Connection for urban and rural job opportunities.

I am grateful I had the opportunity to learn more about health in rural America, and I hope that you to will increase your awareness to the issues facing rural communities.

Information contained in this blog came from these resources:

http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/

http://www.azrha.org/

http://www.nationalahec.org/home/index.asp

Holly Miller, MD, MBA, FHIMSS