TotalCare is a convenient and accessible healthcare virtual visit platform that is very rewarding for rural communities. Rural communities deal with a low quality of life when it comes to preventing and managing chronic diseases. People in rural communities suffer from chronic diseases more than people in urban communities. In rural communities, 22.6% of the people have 2-3 chronic conditions, while in urban communities, 18.9% of the people have 2-3 chronic conditions. People in rural communities bear the heavy burden of having fewer resources to help prevent and treat chronic diseases and conditions than urban communities. According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, conducted in 2020, 46 million people live in rural communities. That is 14% of the U.S. population. Rural communities tend to have the most prevalent chronic diseases present in them compared to urban communities. According to a study done by the Centers for Disease Control in 2013, the most prevalent chronic diseases and conditions in rural communities were high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, depressive disorder asthma, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart disease. The physician-patient ratio in rural communities is 1:1,754 compared to the physician-patient ratio of 1:1,282 in urban communities. People in rural communities sometimes have to travel 45 minutes or longer to get access to healthcare. When patients from rural communities have to travel long distances, they stop scheduling appointments with their doctor, which can increase their chances of hospitalization as a result of them not managing their conditions.
TotalCare allows people in rural communities to have access to healthcare from the privacy of their home. Patients can schedule and conduct a virtual call at their convenience – all they need is a smartphone or a tablet. Provider(s) can perform examination, diagnose illnesses, and prescribe a treatment plan for them. Patients do not have to worry about waiting in a doctor’s office, traveling long distances to get to a doctor’s office, or their lack of follow-up appointments as a result of traveling a long distance to visit the doctor. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2018, people in rural communities live 10.5 miles from the nearest hospital, while people in urban communities live 4.4 miles from the nearest hospital. If traffic patterns are analyzed, a person will discover that the travel time to the nearest hospital for a person who lives in a rural community is 17 minutes, while the travel time for a person in an urban community to the nearest hospital is only 10 minutes. People in rural communities can reduce their stress concerning long distances to the nearest hospital when they use TotalCare as a result of its easy, virtual method of providing physician-patient communication in just a few simple steps. These people can also reduce their chances of hospitalization because they are able to be given the tools that they need to live a healthy life. People in rural communities who use TotalCare can also become more energized and productive as a result of changing their behavior when it comes to their health. TotalCare is a platform that includes doctors that want to see their patients thrive and live a rewarding, healthy life that includes the tools needed to prevent and manage chronic diseases.
References
Dobis, Elizabeth A., et al. “Rural America at a Glance.” U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021 Ed. Accessed 5 July. 2022. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/102576/eib-230.pdf?v=4409
Lam, Onyi, et al. “How Far Americans Live from the Closest Hospital Differs by Community Type.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 12 Dec. 2018, Accessd 29 June 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/12/how-far-americans-live-from-the-closest-hospital-differs-by-community-type/
Larson, Eric H. and Norris, Thomas E. “Rural Demography and the Health Workforce: Interstate Comparisons.” University of Washington: The Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, 2020, Accessed 5 July. 2002. https://familymedicine.uw.edu/rhrc/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/10/RuralCh4Comparisons.pdf
“Rural Health Information Hub.” Chronic Disease in Rural America, Accessed 22 June 2022. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/chronic-disease#urban-comparison.
“Total Care for Patient.” Total Care, Accessed 21 June 2022.
https://totalcaretelemed.com/patient/home.
“TotalCare for Rural Communities.” YouTube, TotalCare, 21 Aug. 2020, Accessed 22 June 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU9A2lGmeVc.