Rural Healthcare Access

Various barriers to healthcare access impact rural communities such as lack of public transportation

combined with increased distances to health services, lack of cell service and internet access, and fewer

healthcare providers compared to urban environments. Due to lower population density in rural regions,

healthcare centers are often located in centralized areas. This can result in lengthy travel times required for

doctors’ visits. In addition, these areas do not typically have consistent or reliable public transportation.

These factors can lead to patients choosing to go for longer periods without seeking medical attention or

only going in the case of emergencies. Over the past few years, especially since the start of COVID-19,

telehealth services have grown in use and quality. Unfortunately, there are still large areas of the country

that do not have access to cell service and/or internet connection. While telehealth seems like it could be a

solution to the lack of transportation in rural communities, it can often further the disparity in access.

Lastly, all of these issues are coupled with a lack of interest among healthcare providers to establish clinics

and services in rural areas. There are countless reasons why providers do not seek out rural health. A few of

these reasons include not having enough patients to support their practice, low economic return, limited

resources, and increased workload. All of these factors contribute to barriers to rural healthcare access but

represent just a fraction of the issues faced by these regions. 

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