Nevada’s rural healthcare providers face the difficult reality of persistent unpredictability. On any given day, the small teams of providers that staff and run rural clinics across our state might treat dozens, potentially even hundreds, of patients. These patients will often travel from vast distances and present with a wide range of conditions. From diagnosing the common cold and flu to treating chronic conditions and providing emergency care, our small-town healthcare providers are forced to face it all. While this is certainly no easy task, the current conditions rural providers face today make it even more difficult.
Beyond the significant resource shortages that one might expect to be a challenge for smaller and more remote hospitals, our small-town clinics face another concern: workforce shortages. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of burnout in the field have increased, leading to higher turnover. As a result, hospitals and clinics across the country are struggling to maintain the staff they need to serve their patients effectively.
In Nevada, we face some of the worst shortages among all states, with only 218 physicians and 5.5 general surgeons per 100,000 residents, less than the national averages for both standards. These shortages have resulted in nearly 70% of the Silver State’s population living in primary health professional shortage areas (HPSA). Additionally, almost 90% of our state’s population lives in a mental health professional shortage area, including 100% of rural and frontier counties. Across all areas of care, the impact of these shortages is disproportionately felt by rural and frontier communities – underscoring the urgent need for action.
While state and federal policymakers have championed initiatives to address these debilitating shortages, companies like Las Vegas-based CareCognitics—which uses a patented software platform to remotely connect with and motivate patients—are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and continuous remote monitoring to increase access to care. These innovations make it easier for patients to be more proactive in managing their health, helping to fill the gap for doctors and nurses on the frontlines of rural healthcare today.
AI and machine learning have been used in our healthcare system for decades. However, recent leaps in technological innovation have highlighted their transformative power for rural providers. Given the limited capacity of clinics facing workforce shortages and strained resources, AI’s emerging supporting role in administrative work, such as data entry and scheduling, is helping doctors and nurses focus their critical time on serving patient needs. These technologies do more than save clinicians valuable time and reduce staff burnout. They also help doctors diagnose patients more efficiently and effectively. This is crucial in rural settings, where diagnostic and preventative care are often more challenging as a higher number of patients rely on fewer providers.
Yet, AI's impact is not only being felt in the local clinics themselves; it’s also supporting the increasingly vital role of telemedicine. According to the Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology, telehealth is emerging as a critical component of our healthcare crisis by increasing access, improving health outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and educating and enhancing our workforce. As telehealth continues to surge in popularity even after the pandemic's conclusion, many find it convenient due to the distance they must travel each time to receive care. Rural Nevada shares a state-of-the-art mobile MRI system that services four hospitals across hundreds of miles.
Between AI’s applicability to supporting the efficiency and effectiveness of small-town clinics and its ability to help doctors identify cancer and beyond, technology’s continued innovation paints a promising future for our state’s rural healthcare system. As Nevada legislators continue to support innovative and diverse ways to address workforce shortages in next year’s session, support for continued exploration of AI’s application into the healthcare space should be top-of-mind.
Sunny Tara is the Founder/CEO of CareCognitics
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