Rural medical providers fall short of MU after 1 year: 5 things to know

Although rural medical providers have implemented health IT initiatives in a similar fashion as urban medical providers, they have not achieved meaningful use as effectively, based on a HealthAffairs study, according to HealthcareIT News.

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Here are five things to know:

1. The study found 38 percent of rural medical providers “skipped at least one year after initial MU achievement.” Only 34 percent of urban medical provider skipped one year.

2. The majority (97.2 percent) of rural hospitals with fewer than 100 beds achieved MU. This rate proved consistent with urban hospitals (97.4 percent).

3. Rural medical providers actually demonstrated a higher rate of initial health IT adoption than urban medical providers. However, they fell behind their urban counterparts in maintaining MU.

4. Rural critical access hospitals and small rural hospitals skipped at least one year of MU the most.

5. Rural providers struggle with engaging patients in the technology.

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