Over 40% of today’s physicians are burned out. A closer look at research indicates that not only is this a system problem rather than an individual problem, but that burnout impacts a system’s revenue streams, healthcare quality, and patient safety and satisfaction. Experts suggest the problem may even be of more concern in rural areas.
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Governance, organizational size, and other factors may impact rural local health departments’ ability to take on voluntary accreditation. In addition to a brief review of these issues, accreditation officials, professional societies, and researchers share how they are working together to better understand these challenges in order to foster equity for all public health departments desiring accreditation.
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Sharing how national and state voluntary accreditation helps their department meet the public health needs of their county’s population — and its 8 million yearly visitors — Missouri’s Taney County Health Department director Leslie Marshall also provides tips and ideas for other rural health departments thinking about accreditation.
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Chronic obstructive lung disease, or COPD, is a disease with a stronghold in rural America: almost double the prevalence and double the mortality rates compared to large urban areas. Though it is a condition with no cure, it’s a condition that has treatments — and hope — making proper diagnosis by spirometry imperative.
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Translational science is a specialized research field bringing cutting-edge science to patients that need it. Making sure rural communities are also recipients of new research, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science is a federal agency that facilitates the steps and supports the investigators who want their findings to translate into better health.
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Considered social determinants of health, social isolation and loneliness impact health. The University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center’s Deputy Director, Dr. Carrie Henning-Smith, explains how these determinants impact rural Americans based on information from her team’s recent studies.
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A “virtual telehealth librarian” describes the range of technical assistance provided by the federally-funded regional and national telehealth resource centers.
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Teleophthalmology has an established track record. Two ophthalmologists talk about present and future realities for remote eye care technology.
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Public health experts, researchers, and organizations who are concerned about eye health in rural America note new data collection efforts to be able to better understand vision care needs. Screening guidelines also play an important part in vision care in rural America.
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Highlighting eye care as more than prescribing glasses, an optometrist explains how the medical model of optometry brings additional health benefits to rural patients.
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