The Basics

There are many forms of telehealth – such as live-interactive videoconferencing, remote monitoring, store-and-forward imaging, and provider education. Many different types of care settings can benefit from telehealth technology, including rural providers. Telehealth can help rural providers deliver better health care by connecting rural providers and their patients to services at distant sites and promoting patient-centered health care.

Connecting Providers and Patients

Telehealth connects rural providers and their patients to services at a distant site. This capability enables patients to receive care in their communities and avoid long travel times. Given the shortage of some medical specialties in rural America,^1,2 telehealth will play an important role in ensuring patients in rural communities can access the care they need. For example, imagine a rural primary care provider (PCP) needs to refer a patient to a Stroke Specialist in an area where no such specialists practice. With telehealth, the PCP may be able to leverage telecommunications technologies to connect the patient with a specialist at a remote site instead of asking the patient to travel to another community to obtain care.

Promoting Patient-Centered Health Care

Another significant benefit of telehealth is that telehealth promotes patient-centered health care. For example, telehealth can promote and improve the following patient-centered services:

• Patient-provider communications
• Patient self-management with provider feedback
• Health literacy
• Medication management
• Provider-provider consultants
• Changes in health and lifestyle behavior

For More Information

For more information on the types of care settings that can benefit from telehealth technology, see the Health Resource and Services Administration's Rural Health IT Toolbox.