Telemedicine as Part of a High Performance Rural Health System

April 15, 2019 | 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CDT

The Helmsley Charitable Trust is a large funder of telemedicine provision in seven states of the Upper Midwest. Through the Rural Healthcare Program of Helmsley, 167 of 362 Critical Access Hospitals in the region now have access to Pharmacists and Board-Certified emergency physicians and critical care-trained and experienced RN’s via telemedicine. Through work with small rural hospitals, telemedicine, and the RUPRI (Rural Policy Research Institute, University of Iowa) Health Panel, we’ve also discovered that telemedicine is a vital component of transitioning to or creating a High Performance Rural Health System. Several RUPRI papers since 2011 have discussed this concept, laid out the components, and given case studies and policy considerations. Helmsley Rural Healthcare Program staff have had the unique experience of seeing telemedicine in action and how it not only improves access, but decreases isolation of providers and adds a collegial approach to rural medicine. Walk through a bit of rural healthcare history and discover the intersection of telemedicine and the evolution towards a High Performance Rural Health System.

Speaker:

• Heidi Schultz, Program Officer, The Helmsley Charitable Trust