I am a huge fan of science fiction. I enjoy the gadgets and visions writers can come up with for the future and all of the promise they offer people in their stories. So imagine what went through my head when I was at the National Rural Health Association meeting last May and they were discussing health care being delivered via telemedicine and robots. It almost seemed surreal.
However, the struggle of access to health care for people in rural communities is far from fiction. Rural America struggles to find health care providers. As providers age and retire there is a real gap in the number of medical professionals who want to live and practice medicine in those regions. This is where the advances in technology can step in to fill in some of those gaps.
In light of the work I do I though, what does telemedicine offer to women, in rural communities? How could a technology like this improve the lives of women? What are some of the services that have been hard to access? As I have looked around and done some research a few things jumped out at me.
1. Cervical Cancer Screening - Telecolposcopy - (tele WHAT?) A Colposcopy is a procedure that allows health care practitioners to take a closer look at the cervix to determine what may be the cause of an abnormal pap smear test. This is not a procedure that has been readily accessible for women in remote areas. Telemed technology has made it possible for women to be screened for HPV, cervical cancer and other infections in remote regions. This procedure can alert a woman to cancerous cells and save her life.
2. High risk prenatal care – Telesonography - It is not unusual for women in rural regions to forgo prenatal care due to the vast distances they have to travel and the time that will take away from work and family. As I saw in the presentation at the NRHA conference, sonograms can be done via telemedicine with incredible accuracy and alert women to any problems or monitor high risk pregnancies. This kind of information can make it possible for women to have healthier pregnancies and births.
3. Abortion and abortion after care – Women’s access to abortion in rural areas is severely limited. Most physicians who offer abortion services are located in urban regions and women are not always able to get good referrals and information.Telemedicine has allowed for women in rural areas to access medication abortion in a private and safe manner.
It is true that robots and interaction via video screens will never be the same as an in human contact. But if there is a way to deliver health care to people in remote areas of the country through technology then we can learn to use it. Telemedicine alone is no answer. It will still be subject to the rules of what it takes to make a healthy community – access, resources on the ground, and a willingness of the community to allow progress to happen. There is no way to escape the political landmines that will crop up when you are dealing with women’s healthcare. But there is way for us to be visionary and thoughtful as we work together towards better health care for women and families in rural America.
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