Report: Rural, urban hospitals use telehealth in different ways

Thirty-four percent of rural hospitals and 32% of urban hospitals had at least one telehealth application currently in use, and rural and urban hospitals did not differ significantly in overall telehealth implementation rates, according to a Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Policy Brief. The institute analyzed 2013 Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics database to gauge the extent of telehealth/telemedicine use.

Rural and urban hospitals did differ in the departments where telehealth was implemented. Rural hospitals were more likely to implement telehealth in radiology departments and in emergency/trauma care. In contrast, urban hospitals were more likely to implement telehealth in cardiology/stroke/heart attack programs, neurology, and OB-GYN/NICU/pediatrics. “Follow-up research will verify the differences in types of telehealth implemented and investigate the low reported utilization rates, which may result from confusion of survey respondents about what constitutes telehealth,” the RUPRI brief stated.

Source: RUPRI