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Introduction and Philanthropy Goals

Today in Health IT, we're discussing rural healthcare and targeting social determinants of health to improve outcomes. My name is Kate Gamble. I'm Managing Editor at This Week Health, where we host a set of channels and events dedicated to transforming healthcare, one connection at a time.

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Challenges in Rural Healthcare

So today, we're discussing rural healthcare, targeting social determinants of health to improve outcomes. I'm joined by Sarah Richardson, president of our 229 Executive Development Community. Sarah, happy Friday from DC and welcome to the show. Thank you, Kate.

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And so I love that we chose this article and specifically because when we host our 229 summits and roundtables, we're typically talking to healthcare systems that have over a billion dollars in revenue. We really get a chance to work with the rural facilities or some of the mid markets, which at some point will find a way to expand serving their in person needs as well.

But as I think about this specifically, all of these health systems either have some of these mid market size facilities, or in some cases, critical access hospitals in their ecosystem, or they become the direct feeder. into them. And what's really interesting about this is when it talks about the importance of addressing social determinants of health in rural health care, rural's got some big challenges.

They have lack of transportation, they may have economic instability, and they're going to have limited access to community resources that may be inclusive of type of specialist that they're going to need. And then maybe even broadband access to get telehealth as one of those solutions. So we're seeing these rural hospitals implementing things like mobile clinics and transportation services to mitigate some of these issues.

Yeah. And one of the things that we've, really seen and heard is that CIOs and other leaders of rural hospitals, they have such a passion for it. It's always been amazing to me to hear what they're willing to do to keep those doors open, because in a lot of cases there is no other care and they feel that obligation.

So it's a really important issue. There are a lot of challenges. , transportation and financial barriers to care is a huge one.

So you have mobile clinics, shuttle services being used to improve access and social determinants of health insights, which can help address community specific needs. Pretty interesting. We've laid out what the issues are. But there are some things that can be done. So just want to get some of your thoughts there.

Yeah.

Innovative Solutions and Community Impact

And here's why I'm Resonate with this so much as well is that you think about those that serve the rural communities or the do the outreach, and it is a hundred percent mission driven. I love some of the conversations that I do have with CIOs in different settings and they'll say, Hey, I am the CIO, system administrator, network administrator, CISO.

Oh, and by the way, I had to help register patients in the ED because there was no one else to do that. You see some of these 25 and 50 bed hospitals. They wear five and six hats. All the time. And it's fascinating that when they have access to things like the data utilization, so if they can leverage SDOH data to improve care delivery strategy, I don't care what hat you have to wear that day.

Now you're the informaticist with some of the doctors, or now you're the analytics person, but you're really understanding very specifically. Because healthcare is local, what those patients need. And when you're also, part of the thing I love about those that choose to work in these rural settings is they see the biggest picture of care in the dynamic in which it's being delivered.

And then for the integration of the technology that they do have available, Those mobile clinics require technical infrastructure. You need to get really creative. If you don't have broadband inside someone's house, so delivering telehealth isn't going to be as likely of a possibility, then that mobile clinic is going to need that broadband access.

So maybe you're accessing Starlink or different satellite capabilities. And then partnerships. Either community resources to strengthen care models or a lot of your vendor partnerships that help you figure these pieces out. And if I'm that CIO in a rural healthcare setting, I'm like, okay, these are my three primary vendors.

But of course, one of the things that comes up so often, and especially on the rural side is the workforce shortage and the challenges that You have, recruiting and retaining good people. And, that's, another thing that has to be considered anytime you talk about rural health care.

Well, a hundred percent. And if you think about the fact that we really are thinking about ways to take this information to improve health outcomes, maybe you do see your doctor at church and I'll be honest as a kid growing up You can't see it in our conversation, but I've got scars on my on my right hand and on my left knee because I completely thought I could do like the Evel Knievel jump off the ramp that my brother and his friends had built in the backyard for skateboarding.

And guess what? Didn't turn out so great. We called our doctor who lived down the street and this stuff all got stitched up at the kitchen table a thing. Now that was more about convenience and also living in a neighborhood where my doctor was as well, et cetera. That is still true for people in these rural settings, as an example.

Go to where they're going to be. And to your point, it might be a community center, it might be church. Heck, it could be a barbershop or a grocery store, if they know that you're there and you've built the community trust. Because you trust the data so you can make good decisions, because you've made those determining factors.

And you're likely going to have a physician or clinicians that have been in the area for a long time. And nobody that gets recruited to these areas or goes to serve there is typically looking for a short term stint. It's all about lifestyle and perspective and choice. And so when you as a practitioner can go into those environments and use the information that's given to you very thoughtfully by your technology teams and make great decisions.

Heck, it may be the CIO and the doctor there that day making sure that things go smoothly, but that's exactly why they're there. Like you said, this is such an important topic and it is something that I hope we can focus on more going forward because how much of this country is served by rural health.

It's pretty amazing. All don't forget to share this podcast with a friend or colleague. Thank you for listening. And that's a wrap. Thank you.