Given the fact that 20% of America’s population resides in a rural area, it’s readily apparent that modern healthcare technology needs not only to be available in highly populated urban areas, but the outskirts as well. These are areas where residents count on their critical access hospital to provide them with an acceptable level of care.
A significant percentage of these critical access hospitals are challenged by a number of factors, including personnel and budgets. And some don’t make it, have to close their doors and necessitate former clients to seek out healthcare in far less convenient locations.
There is a mixture of competition, access and affordability that impacts the levels of service rural patients are able to get. As technology advances, the affordability aspect becomes even more challenging, especially for the critical access hospital where the budget for new infrastructure is extremely strained.
Radiology in Rural Areas
There are some obvious barriers to healthcare, and radiology is a prime example of where patients in rural areas can go without some of the more advanced procedures radiology has to offer today.
Fortunately, there are options now that ease the burden rural providers experience with their budgets and/or personnel issues. Everything from advanced PACS, VNA, teleradiology, mammography and storage are handled via cloud-based solutions.
Not only do critical access hospitals not have to spend huge amounts for hardware, they also don’t have to compete with urban areas for highly-skilled personnel who know how to operate various aspects of the technology. When you partner with the right vendor, all of that is taken on by them, leaving you to worry only about mission-critical tasks and let the vendor do all the maintenance and updates on their end.
Workflow Improvements
At OffSite Image Management, we serve all types of clients, but our focus has always been on critical access hospitals and other providers in rural areas. Many of our first-time clients are shocked to learn they can gain access to some of the most modern conveniences radiologists in urban areas enjoy, but without the cost.
Your PACS should support all of your needs, even if you operate a smaller facility than what most radiology technology providers are accustomed to serving, you should still have access to PACS that eases your workflow and provides more visibility into your daily tasks. That’s what we can offer as a responsive partner tending to all your imaging needs.
Like many imaging providers throughout the world, telemedicine is a requirement today. With our teleradiology solutions, you’ll be covered with more accountability in how you approach exams being read offsite. If you’ve got challenges, we’ve got answers. Contact us at OffSite and let’s talk about how we can ease your burden while improving your level of patient care.
