Summary: Improving Access To Healthcare In Rural America

Improving Access to Healthcare in Rural America
Nearly 25% of the United States population lives in rural America, but this demographic is only served by approximately 10% of the country’s physicians (Ungar, 2015, p. A8; Beck, 2011, p. D1). Only a small percentage of physicians are treating a large number of people who are spread out throughout the country. This provider shortage greatly limits the access to healthcare that rural Americans are getting. Dr. Rosenblatt, a professor and vice chair in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, stated that: “The shortages of rural physicians in general and family physicians in particular have become more severe in the last 10 years and will continue to
One of the problems they face is getting care in time before significant damage is done. For example, “43 rural hospitals have closed since early 2010 and the closings often make it impossible for heart attack and stroke victims to get care within the hour recommended for treatment” (O’Donnell, 2014, p. A6). Rural Americans do not live within close proximity to each other, therefore the hospitals are often not close to them in general. So when a hospital closes down in creates a problem because then the other nearest hospital could be over an hour away. That extra time could be catastrophic to the person in need of care and if there were more providers people would not run into this problem. Another problem people living in rural areas face are the lack of health specialists. Health specialists tend to settle in urban cities so when someone living in rural America needs access to one they would have to travel a long distance and some may not be able to get to the city. There is a gap between the need and availability of mental health services particularly for families that are unable to afford to travel long distances for specialized care. (Jacob, Larson, & Craighead, 2012, p. 1041). In rural areas, there is a lack of health specialists that are available to treat patients. This creates a problem for those who need a specific type healthcare and are unable to access
One example of a loan repayment program is The National Health Service Corps, who have a loan repayment program that targets primary care, dental and mental/behavioral health clinicians. This program will help to pay off the doctor’s student loans in exchange for at least a two-year commitment to work in a high-need areas like rural areas (NHSC, 2016). This is a great program that encourages students out of medical school to practice in rural areas. The program will help to increase the number of physicians that practice in rural America which will increase the access to healthcare. Another strategy being tried is through the Affordable Care Act which is giving a pay increase to physicians that service primary care needs. This will help to encourage people to move to those needed fields instead of moving into a speciality (HHS, 2015). Many people take into account pay to help determine their job and this will help to increase the amount of interest toward general medicine instead of specialities. If the amount of interest is increased, that will help to get more doctors to practice general medicine. Overall, there are many ways the government is trying to help improve the number of physicians in rural America and some of them are