Forty-six percent of U.S. counties lack a practicing cardiologist, according to a new report from Cardio Diagnostics Holdings.
The report “The State of Rural Hospitals and Cardiovascular Care,” is aimed at improving the quality of cardiovascular care and patient outcomes in rural areas, according to an Aug. 26 news release from the company.
Here are five things to know:
- Rural areas have an average of 39.8 physicians per 100,000 residents. In urban areas, there are 53.3 physicians for every 100,000 residents.
- The shortage of physicians in rural areas leads to longer wait times, limited availability of specialized treatments and potential delays in receiving care.
- More than one-quarter of residents in rural areas lack broadband access, which limits the implementation of telehealth and remote monitoring technologies that could bridge the distance between patients and providers.
- Rural residents are more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease compared with urban residents because of greater geographic isolation, lower socioeconomic status, reduced access to preventive care and increased exposure to cardiovascular risk factors.
- The report suggests a new model for managing cardiovascular disease in rural areas, which includes upskilling primary care providers, advancing cardiovascular care through epigenetic-genetic testing, implementing population-wide strategies to improve community health outcomes and integrating remote care options in rural communities.
Read the full report here.
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