ArticleThe Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association2020
Telehealth Availability in US Hospitals in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Challenges of Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2022Pooled it
- Telemedicine technologies and applications in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Health informatics journalPooled it
- Early adoption of telehealth/remote patient monitoring and hospital revenue changes during COVID-19.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Article
- Trends in Positive Urine Culture Rates and Antimicrobial Resistance in Non-Hospitalized Children from Western Romania: A Retrospective Observational Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Telehealth payment parity and outpatient service utilization: evidence from privately insured workers.Health affairs scholar · 2025Article
- Evaluation of a Simulation Program for Providing Telenursing Training to Nursing Students: Cohort Study.JMIR medical education · 2025Article
- Attitudes toward telemedicine among urban and rural residents.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2024Article
- Barriers to Telemedicine Use: Qualitative Analysis of Provider Perspectives During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JMIR human factors · 2023Article
- The use of information and communication technology in Japanese rural clinics.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2021Article
- The Clinical Information Systems Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.Yearbook of medical informatics · 2021Review
- Is Rural Kansas Prepared? An Assessment of Resources Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.Kansas journal of medicine · 2021Article
- Cancer Imaging and Patient Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Radiology. Imaging cancer · 2020Review
- Telehealth Availability in US Hospitals in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelehealth is likely to play a crucial role in treating COVID-19 patients. However, not all US hospitals possess telehealth capabilities. This brief report was designed to explore US hospitals' readiness with respect to telehealth availability. We hope to gain deeper insight into the factors affecting possession of these valuable capabilities, and how this varies between rural and urban areas.
methodsBased on 2017 data from the American Hospital Association survey, Area Health Resource Files and Medicare cost reports, we used logistic regression models to identify predictors of telehealth and eICU capabilities in US hospitals.
resultsWe found that larger hospitals (OR(telehealth) = 1.013; P < .01) and system members (OR(telehealth) = 1.55; P < .01) (OR(eICU) = 1.65; P < .01) had higher odds of possessing telehealth and eICU capabilities. We also found evidence suggesting that telehealth and eICU capabilities are concentrated in particular regions; the West North Central region was the most likely to possess capabilities, given that these hospitals had higher odds of possessing telehealth (OR = 1.49; P < .10) and eICU capabilities (OR = 2.15; P < .05). Rural hospitals had higher odds of possessing telehealth capabilities as compared to their urban counterparts, although this relationship was marginally significant (OR = 1.34, P < .10).
conclusionsUS hospitals vary in their preparation to use telehealth to aid in the COVID-19 battle, among other issues. Hospitals' odds of possessing the capability to provide such services vary largely by region; overall, rural hospitals have more widespread telehealth capabilities than urban hospitals. There is still great potential to expand these capabilities further, especially in areas that have been hard hit by COVID-19.
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