Today on the show we are talking about rural healthcare. According to the National Institute for Healthcare Management -- 12.6 of the 19.6 million people who live in New York are considered medically underserved. Which means there aren’t enough primary care providers, high poverty rates, and a high elderly population. If you live in the Finger Lakes you probably know the doctors in your community by name and can count them on one hand. Moreover, if a trip to the hospital is necessary -- it’s probably a 25-30 minute drive away.
Enter a new pilot program between URMC and Five Star Bank aimed at addressing the access issues associated with rural healthcare. The program’s creators asked a simple question: What if there were common access points that took the stress out of connecting with a doctor? What if it could be as easy as going to the bank? Something people in rural communities often do several times a month. It leverages telemedicine portals by placing them in high-traffic banks in very rural communities, and according to those involved with its launch -- there's a lot of upside.
Last week I was joined by Five Star CEO Marty Birmingham and URMC’s Chief Digital Health Officer Michael Hasselberg to discuss.
