Rural Applications of Telemedicine

Objectives To describe the status of telemedicine in rural America, the characteristics of health care facilities using telemedicine technologies to serve rural patients, the volume and scope of services delivered, the costs associated with this care, and the funding sources. Methods A screening survey was mailed to all 2472 nonfederal U.S. hospitals located outside metropolitan areas. Nonrespondents were interviewed by telephone. Those who reported some form of telemedicine capability, and all the telemedicine affiliates they named, became the sample for a detailed follow-up survey (N = 558) in January 1996. Results Ninety-six per cent of all rural hospitals responded to the screener survey, and 89% of the 558 identified telemedicine facilities responded to the detailed follow-up survey (total respondents = 499). In this cross-sectional study, two thirds of the telemedicine respondents (340) were using only teleradiology. Of the 159 telemedicine programs pursuing other clinical applications, 67% had been...