Transformed Rural Health Care

Electronic health records (EHRs) are especially beneficial to rural America. In rural areas where distances between clinics are great and specialists are often few and far between, EHRs can:

• Instantly provide accurate, up-to-date, and complete information about patients so rural health care organizations can make timely decisions and save lives
• Enable rural health care providers to interface with health IT capabilities including telehealth to access remote clinicians, pharmacists, and staff members, improving and extending access for patients
• Facilitate efficient transfer to other facilities for vital services not offered locally
• Help rural health care organizations offer efficient local care after intense care in a tertiary hospital, reducing costs for rural communities
• Improve specialty referrals in communities where specialists are often limited

Providers Like You

To learn about providers and organizations like you that are leveraging the benefits of electronic health records to improve rural health care quality, see the following provider stories:

• Robert DeLuca’s EHR Story: Benefits of EHRs for Rural Providers
• Benefits of Electronic Health Records in a Rural Critical Access Hospital
• Rural Health Clinic Exchanges Information with Hospitals and Physicians for Improved Coordination of Care
• Focus on Improving Patient Care Motivates Hospital to Upgrade Electronic Health Record
• Dr. Tashjian's Rural Practice Finds EHR's Allow Patients Gain Control of Their Care And Health

For More Information

For more information on how you can leverage the benefits of electronic health records to improve rural health care quality, see the following resources:

• Benefits for Critical Access Hospitals and Other Small Rural Hospitals
• Accelerating Progress on Adoption and Meaningful Use of Health IT among Critical Access Hospitals and Small Rural Hospitals