Rural communities are beset with all manner of healthcare barriers, especially when it comes to timely and accurate diagnostic testing. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, “rural healthcare delivery encounters significant obstacles that increase the risk of diagnostic errors, such as limited access to advanced diagnostic tools, a shortage of specialists, and substantial determinants of health affecting patients.” In addition to the delayed treatments and misdiagnoses, these challenges also contribute to poorer health outcomes and increase healthcare costs. 1
In this blog, we will be looking at ways to improve the confidence of diagnostic testing in rural and resource-limited areas.
Identifying the challenges
There are many contributing factors to challenges in rural diagnostic accessibility. First and foremost, these barriers exist because of gaps in care resources. Optimal diagnostic laboratory facilities are needed for effective care delivery, but rural areas often lack the resources to accommodate these needs. The unavailability of laboratory resources and unreliable supply chains are chief among the many challenges healthcare is facing.2
There is also a shortage of skilled personnel to run diagnostic testing. Limited education and training facilities at the local level continue to exacerbate these challenges, which then impacts retention levels of those who do meet the qualifications.3 Rural areas in particular face challenges with access to state-of-the-art equipment. In fact, many have to rely on outdated equipment, due to the high costs and logistical constraints that come with diagnostic tools like automated blood analyzers and polymerase chain reaction machines. Even if the equipment is available, there’s not always the capacity for technical support to ensure functionality.4
One of the byproducts of this limited access to healthcare is a ‘diagnostic desert’, wherein communities are unable to access expedient, affordable, and appropriate care. Many patients have to travel to multiple clinics and multiple specialists in order to identify and diagnose their condition. Living within the diagnostic desert creates complications for the patient’s diagnostic journey, where getting the care that they need hinges on their willingness, or even ability, to travel further than they should have to.5
Creating solutions
While accessibility and diagnostic excellence are significant challenges for rural healthcare, it’s also an opportunity for innovation and creativity to find a workable solution. It might not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but it’s important to find one that meets your needs.
For example, there is a ‘hub-and-spoke' model that is actively expanding healthcare and diagnostic access in rural New Mexico. This approach uses brick-and-mortar school-based health centers as hubs, with ‘spoke’ sites at frontier schools that use any available space to deliver care. Every day that school is open, there is healthcare available to students, staff, local families, and community members.6
At Duke University, there’s a team of people working to develop a mobile healthcare solution for rural areas. MARCUS units are electric vehicles that are built to traverse rugged terrain and carry healthcare modules designed to deliver various types of specialty care. Their goal is to create a home base in regions where this is significant need where the MARCUS units could be dispatched to different parts of that region based on the need.7
Aside from these creative and specialized solutions, labs in rural areas can implement essential laboratory methods to improve patient care and enable timely interventions. Due to limited access to sophisticated laboratories, leveraging affordable and easy-to-use tools is vital. Routine hematology and biochemistry tests help detect anemia, diabetes, and organ dysfunction, but their interpretation must be combined with patient history and clinical symptoms for accurate diagnosis. Point-of-Care (POC) testing is another way to provide patients with fast results without the need for specialized equipment, ideal for areas with unreliable electricity. Artificial intelligence will continue to enhance the capabilities of point-of-care tests, ultimately bringing diagnostics closer to the patients.8
In order to meet the dynamic needs of healthcare organizations in rural areas, you need a partner who understands how to overcome these challenges. Learn more about our POC tests and tools designed to alleviate some of the challenges rural healthcare faces.
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