This week, The Wall Street Journal featured a story about rural North Carolina’s perpetual economic struggle. Not even lucrative taxpayer-backed incentive packages can hard sell mega companies like Toyota, Mazda, or Foxconn to settle in the state.
While the article focused only on economic development, it certainly brings up for discussion that job shortages triggers other shortages, like health care. I wrote last week that over 1.4 million North Carolinians live in primary care shortage areas. That’s 14 percent of the state population. Moreover, over one-third of counties don’t have access to an OBGYN, and seeking a mental health provider is even more difficult.
Many state lawmakers who are adamant about improving access to rural health know first-hand that job supply and the availability of medical care go hand in hand. Fortunately, there are solutions to ameliorating the health care crisis – telemedicine being one of them.
Thanks to the advancement of technology, an increasing number of hospitals and medical providers are using telemedicine to deliver care from a distance. Apps like RelyMD allow people to engage in a virtual doctor visit for a wide array of non-urgent medical issues, saving them from making an unnecessary (and expensive) trip to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care. There is even a virtual direct pay practice that prides itself on not needing a brick and mortar building when treating patients.
What’s most powerful about telemedicine is that it saves lives. In understaffed Emergency Rooms across the nation, providers are connecting with neurologists located elsewhere for assistance in stabilizing stroke victims.
In my latest policy report, you can read more about how telemedicine expedites access to health care across North Carolina and neighboring states, and what lawmakers can do to expand its reach even further.
