TELEMEDICINE AND RURAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Main Article Content

Dr Ashwini L H
Dr Vinaykumar L H
Dr Hanumanaik L

Keywords

Rural healthcare access, Patient satisfaction, Healthcare cost effectiveness, Healthcare disparities, Emerging technologies, Artificial intelligence.

Abstract

The research examines the contributions of telemedicine to resolving issues regarding healthcare access in rural communities, which are isolated due to long distances between such communities and healthcare facilities, along with a lack of medical resources and other socio-economic problems. The research examines the effects of telemedicine on accessibility, patient satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness through a mixed methods approach that couples quantitative analysis of patient outcomes with qualitative interviews with rural healthcare providers and patients. Results show that telemedicine greatly reduces travel burdens, improves patient satisfaction, and maximizes healthcare costs, and hence is a promising solution to rural healthcare challenges. Barriers continue to exist, especially broadband limitations and uneven regulatory policies, preventing rural communities from realizing telemedicine’s full potential. Increasing the use of artificial intelligence, mobile health applications, blockchain, and other emerging technologies further boosts telemedicine by supporting predictive analytical functions, secure data management, and boosting patient and healthcare-provider interactions. The study contends that policy interventions should be put in place to expand broadband access and standardize telemedicine regulations to create a healthcare model that also provides equitable access for rural populations. The potential for telemedicine to address rural-urban health disparities and more positively impact the health of underserved communities is underscored by findings.

Abstract 117 | pdf Downloads 59

References

1. Ajakwe, Simeon Okechukwu, et al. "Medical IoT Record Security and Blockchain: Systematic Review of Milieu, Milestones, and Momentum." Big Data and Cognitive Computing 8.9 (2024): 121.
2. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee, & American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee: (2022). 5. Facilitating behavior change and well-being to improve health outcomes: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2022. Diabetes care, 45(Supplement_1), S60-S82.
3. Aquino, J. (2022). A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Patients' Satisfaction with Telemedicine Use in the General Hematology-Oncology Setting.
4. Borgen, I. (2023). Patient and Provider Satisfaction and Provider Intent to Use Virtual Video Technology for Medical and Surgical Visits in an Urban Ambulatory Setting During and in the Peri-COVID-19 Era (Doctoral dissertation, Thomas Jefferson University).
5. Bushy, A. (2020). RURAL NURSING: HEALTHCARE DELIVERY AND PRACTICE ISSUES.
6. Seeks, W. C. B., Getachew, Y., Cause, C., Feld, H., Ryan, D., Knowledge, P., ... & Taglang, K. (2018). Federal Communications Commission.
7. Hilty, D. M., Ferrer, D. C., Parish, M. B., Johnston, B., Callahan, E. J., & Yellowlees, P. M. (2013). The effectiveness of telemental health: a 2013 review. Telemedicine and e-Health, 19(6), 444-454.
8. Helms, J., Frankart, L., Bradner, M., Ebersole, J., Regan, B., & Crouch, T. (2023). Interprofessional Active Learning for Chronic Pain: Transforming Student Learning From Recall to Application. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 10, 23821205231221950.
9. Holman, D. M., Benard, V., Roland, K. B., Watson, M., Liddon, N., & Stokley, S. (2014). Barriers to human papillomavirus vaccination among US adolescents: a systematic review of the literature. JAMA pediatrics, 168(1), 76-82.
10. Jæger, H. S. (2024). The Use of Biomarkers to Differentiate Acute Hemorrhagic and Ischemic Stroke. The Biomarker Study.
11. Kaur, J. (2024). Metaverse Medicine: Bridging Healthcare Gaps With AI and IoT Solutions. In Impact and Potential of Machine Learning in the Metaverse (pp. 100-128). IGI Global.
12. Kozhimannil, K. B., & Henning-Smith, C. (2021). Improving health among rural residents in the US. Jama, 325(11), 1033-1034.
13. Krumholz, H. M., Merrill, A. R., Schone, E. M., Schreiner, G. C., Chen, J., Bradley, E. H., ... & Drye, E. E. (2009). Patterns of hospital performance in acute myocardial infarction and heart failure 30-day mortality and readmission. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2(5), 407-413.
14. Jena, O. P., Bhushan, B., & Kose, U. (Eds.). (2022). Machine learning and deep learning in medical data analytics and healthcare applications. CRC Press.
15. Malviya, R., & Goyal, P. (2023). Remote patient monitoring: a computational perspective in Healthcare. CRC Press.
16. McClain, L. C., & Ahmed, A. (2024). The Routledge Companion to Gender and COVID-19. Taylor & Francis Group.
17. McCoy, D., Chand, S., & Sridhar, D. (2009). Global health funding: how much, where it comes from, and where it goes. Health policy and planning, 24(6), 407-417.
18. Morrissey, B., & Maxwell, S. (2023). Paramedicine Literature Search: July-September 2023. International Journal of Paramedicine, (4), 68-115.
19. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2023, September). Innovations at the Pediatric Primary–Specialty Care Interface. In The Future Pediatric Subspecialty Physician Workforce: Meeting the Needs of Infants, Children, and Adolescents. National Academies Press (US).
20. Perle, J. G. (2021). A mental health provider's guide to telehealth: providing outpatient videoconferencing services. Routledge.
21. Pitter, L. (2024). What Is the Effect of Telehealth and the Internet Of Medical Things (IOMT) On Outcomes When Used In At-risk Pregnancies: A Scoping Review of the Components Of Remote Maternal Monitoring For Hypertensive Disorders That Can Successfully Be Done Via Digital Technology?
22. Samson, L. W., Couture, S. J., Creedon, T. B., Jacobus-Kantor, L., & Sheingold, S. (2023). Updated Medicare FFS Telehealth Trends by Beneficiary Characteristics, Visit Specialty, and State, 2019-2021. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: Washington, DC, USA.
23. Shah, A. C., O’Dwyer, L. C., & Badawy, S. M. (2021). Telemedicine in malignant and nonmalignant hematology: systematic review of pediatric and adult studies. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(7), e29619.
24. Smarr, C. (2024). Digital Health Equity: Investigating the Impact of Training Providers' Perceptions of Telehealth Encounters with Professional Language Interpretation Services (Doctoral dissertation, Franklin University).
25. Stoumpos, A. I., Kitsios, F., & Talias, M. A. (2023). Digital transformation in healthcare: technology acceptance and its applications. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(4), 3407.
26. Totten, A. M., Womack, D. M., Griffin, J. C., McDonagh, M. S., Davis-O’Reilly, C., Blazina, I., ... & Elder, N. (2024). Telehealth-guided provider-to-provider communication to improve rural health: A systematic review. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 30(8), 1209-1229.
27. Yang, X., & Kovarik, C. L. (2021). A systematic review of mobile health interventions in China: identifying gaps in care. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 27(1), 3-22.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>