Telehealth could improve healthcare access in Rural Minnesota post-COVID
Generally, rural Minnesotans face poorer health outcomes than urban residents. While, in part, this is due to differences in socioeconomic factors like income and education, discrepancies in access to healthcare are also to blame.
Compared to their metro counterparts, rural Minnesotans have a tougher time accessing healthcare, mainly due to the shortage of providers. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic and has been made worse.
It’s not all bad news, however. While COVID-19 has worsened the provider shortage, it has also encouraged the use of telehealth services, which could be a useful tool in addressing shortages, especially in rural Minnesota, if lawmakers create a more conducive environment.
Healthcare Access Shortage in Rural Minnesota
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesotans in rural areas travel longer to access inpatient services, especially mental health services, compared to their metro counterparts. Furthermore, rural Minnesota generally faces a shortage of primary care physicians, which restricts access to care for residents. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues, not just in Minnesota but even nationally.
Telehealth adoption
To make it easier for providers to meet with patients remotely during the pandemic, states have made numerous regulatory loosening rules. This has increased the use of telehealth among households.
According to a national poll by NPR
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, more than four in ten rural households (46%) report using telehealth, where anyone in their household has received advice or treatment from a doctor or other health care professional over the phone or through asmartphone, tablet, or computer because they could not see one in person.
While this development has been a necessary change due to the nature of COVID-19, it need not end there. Beyond the pandemic, telehealth could simply improve healthcare access, especially for hard-to-reach areas such as Minnesota. But for that to happen, regulations must change.
How Minnesota can facilitate the adoption of telemedicine/telehealth
Currently, mental health providers have extensively adopted telehealth as a way to reach Minnesota patients, partly due to the temporary licensing waiver that Governor Walz instituted for out-of-state providers. This means that after the emergency period is over, outside mental health providers will not be able to provide services to Minnesota patients.
The legislature could waive this requirement permanently and extend it to areas outside of mental health to include other remote-friendly services. This would both expand remote choice options for rural residents,