Why rural America needs telehealth

Rural health care is in crisis. Telehealth can help. Rural health care has been in crisis mode for decades due to a wide range of issues from distance to care to provider shortages and budget shortfalls. Rural residents may have to travel up to twice as far to access a hospital than those in urban areas. Staffing shortages mean that even when they do arrive they’re less likely to find the correct specialist. The American Medical Association reported that about 65 percent of rural areas have a shortage of primary care physicians. The list goes on, and despite multiple grants or special designations designed to help close these gaps, the issues persist. The reality is, rural areas need a range of options to better serve their communities. One that’s working right now is the use of telehealth to supplement care. The trouble is, telehealth is frequently overlooked and underfunded, but if used correctly, proponents say it could be a game changer for rural communities, where about 20 percent of Americans live. Thanks to our sponsor, T-Mobile: http://t-mobile.com/FirstResponders. T-Priority - a 5G network experience made for first responders. Our sponsor has no editorial influence over how we report our stories, but their support makes videos like these possible. Support our work. Become a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/memberships Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications (🔔) so you don't miss any videos: http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Sources and further reading: For more on telehealth’s effectiveness: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topic... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2024... For more about the barriers for health care access in rural areas: https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topic... https://www.ruralhealth.us/about-us/a... https://nihcm.org/publications/rural-... https://healersandpatients.web.unc.ed... https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2025... https://www.abpsus.org/emergency-phys...