Rural Healthcare Innovates with Tech to Boost Patient Engagement and Access
HealthTech Magazine
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Contributed by: Kate Gamble
Summary
Rural healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting integrated platforms and virtual care solutions to enhance patient engagement and access to care. The article focuses on Vail Health Hospital in Colorado, which successfully used a secure, HIPAA-compliant patient-intake platform to alert patients about appointment cancellations during a traffic incident. This instance underscores the importance of timely communication in rural settings. Vail Health has also implemented technologies to better understand patient demographics and health histories while introducing a wayfinding tool to improve the visitor experience. The article highlights the broader challenges faced by rural healthcare providers, particularly amidst a wave of hospital closures, and emphasizes the growing use of integrated electronic health records to facilitate effective communication and outreach efforts.
