Leveraging Digital Health to Connect Care in Rural Communities
Healthcare providers increasingly turn to digital tools to transform and enhance care delivery. For rural communities that grapple with unique healthcare challenges — such as social determinants of health (SDOH), clinician shortages, and geographical barriers — the integration of digital solutions has become a beacon of hope. As detailed in the article "Connected Healthcare Strategies to Boost Rural Access, Digital Equity," prominent healthcare leaders see digital health as pivotal in fostering health equity in rural America.
In the article, Jared Antczak, Chief Digital Officer for Sanford Health, shed light on the significant impact of geographic location on health outcomes, emphasizing that 60% of health outcomes in the country are linked to a person's zip code.
Recognizing the importance of addressing healthcare challenges in rural areas, innovative health system leaders have championed connected care services. These include patient and family engagement, text message-based remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and tele-behavioral healthcare.
Critical to developing impactful connected care services is digital enrollment technology, a game-changer in streamlining access for rural residents. Antczak emphasized that user-friendly technologies allow rural patients to complete enrollments from the comfort of their homes via text or email without downloading new applications or creating passwords. The result? A remarkable increase in adoption of services, soaring from 7.9% to nearly 52% — showcasing the tangible impact of reducing barriers to accessibility in rural settings.
As healthcare organizations navigate the digital frontier, these insights underscore the transformative power of digital tools in addressing the unique healthcare challenges rural communities face. From improving accessibility to streamlining processes, integrating digital solutions emerges as a catalyst for positive change, ultimately empowering rural residents to access quality healthcare with greater ease and efficiency.
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Diya Health is a Software-as-a-Service digital health platform company that enables health systems to deliver higher throughput and increased efficiency by proactively engaging patients, families, and caregivers. Diya leverages a state-of-the-art three-pronged approach to achieve this goal: 1. Automation of administrative and repetitive tasks, 2. A fully integrated multi-lingual messaging platform for 360° communication and collaboration, and 3. An AI-driven, predictive, and adaptive workflow engine. www.diya.health