HCM FPX 5312 Assessment 5 Making a Presentation Recommending Evidence-Based Strategies

Making a Presentation Recommending Evidence-Based Strategies

Slide 01

Hi, I’m _________. I will share some of the important findings from my research on how the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System (ARHS) overcomes obstacles in providing quality healthcare for rural communities, especially for the elderly.

Slide 02

• Organization Overview

The ARHS is a crucial provider of innovative healthcare systems to ensure quality services in rural communities across the Appalachian region. ARHS has a dedicated staff/stakeholder team looking to improve quality services to care in underserved regions; rural clinics with state-of-the-art specialty services and staff make ARHS a unique regional healthcare provider (Appalachian Regional Healthcare, 2024). There are many challenges for healthcare/telehealth services staff, transport, and terrain; financial challenges create limitations on the services ARHS is able to provide (Aguirre et al., 2020). To reduce some of these financial challenges, telemedicine is one of the innovative services ARHS can implement to meet some of its telehealth service obligations. ARHS can implement telehealth services to enhance its rural hospital innovative service integration efforts. With a unique/tailored approach, ARHS can enhance its revenue streams. Additionally, ARHS is able to strengthen its brand image in the rural regions and gain more funding to support new health partnerships, grant funded chronic disease prevention programs. Federal and state rural healthcare grants may support the initial costs of telehealth services.

Slide 03

• Impact of External Macro-Environment on Organization

As a non-profit provider of integrated healthcare services, the ARH system is focused on the integration of many diverse services. A PESTLE analysis focuses on the macro factors of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental Integration of Services, giving insight into the systems that ARHS and its telemedicine services can offer.

Political Factors

Increasingly, telehealth services are receiving legislative support. An example is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) providing ARHS with the first reimbursement funding to expand some of its services. Future regulations may be a concern.

Economic Factors

In terms of economics, rural Appalachia deals with lower incomes and limited technology, which translates to limited telehealth services. However, telehealth does decrease ARHS’s operational costs, which does make it a feasible and sustainable option (Population Reference Bureau, n.d.).

Social Factors

Socially, the region’s lack of healthcare accessibility due to transportation and health inequities is addressed by telehealth as a convenient answer to overcome these barriers, especially for the older populations and those with chronic diseases.

Slide 04

• Technological Factors

Technological challenges faced by ARHS due to a growing number of portable devices that could make consultations asynchronous could be overcome with an investment in the needed infrastructure and training. This would allow telehealth to broaden its reach to a significant number of users, especially if patients were to use their mobile devices to interface for virtual consultations.

Legal Factors

Legal challenges, such as complying with HIPAA and other telehealth laws, may limit telehealth services. Legal challenges such as interstate transportation and licensing laws for out-of-state healthcare services place restrictions on services offered by ARHS.

Environmental Factors

The Appalachian region’s environmental terrain features, with a combination of mountains, isolation, and sparse infrastructure, drive the need for and complicate the application of telemedicine (Anawade et al., 2024). Isolation affects the accessibility of in-person healthcare, while the built infrastructure of roads and healthcare facilities limits the ability to provide and grow traditional services for ARHS.

Slide 05

• Market Data Analysis

The primary data types required to examine health access and identify needs that telemedicine may address include health facility utilization, digital and insurance coverage, and factors that contribute to them. The data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and augmented by health surveys indicate that the rural southern Appalachian population is growing, increasing the demand for healthcare, especially for long, chronic illnesses and the prevention of diseases (Jones et al., 2021). For instance, Census data and surveys indicate an increasing elderly population, who are a vulnerable population most likely to seek medical consultations and specialist healthcare on a frequent basis.

Slide 06

The use of telehealth services improves the health of the most underserved population. This study result shows alignment with the healthcare industry, which has moved toward value-based care, as the primary concern of value-based care is the improvement of health.

Analyzing the region’s population’s economic data shows that most of the population has inadequate health insurance, and many cannot purchase health insurance at all and thus are completely uninsured. Also, there is virtually no coverage of the population by telehealth services. The initial setup and ongoing support of telehealth services are expected to be a financial burden for the ARHS (Saharkhiz et al., 2024). There’s a degree of segmentation, including elderly patients lacking sufficient digital literacy and individuals in geographically remote areas who may lack reliable internet as a means of implementing some of the telehealth solutions.

Slide 07

• Evidence-Based Strategies

ARHS may begin to address some of the challenges associated with rural health by means of knowledge-based strategies related to telehealth, including workforce development and the diversification of funding. Given that rural telehealth improves access, increases satisfaction, and improves the management of rural chronic conditions, ARHS is in a favorable position to expand rural telehealth services (Klee et al., 2023). Barriers to healthcare have been alleviated, and the health of the patient has been improved by timely consultations and follow-ups offered by ARHS. According to Snoswell et al. (2021), increased telehealth services result in improved chronic disease management and increased patient satisfaction.

In addition, ARHS has to focus on the development of effective talent management and talent acquisition strategies in the area of healthcare provider attraction and retention, by partnering with local universities.

NDIS internships and rural healthcare residencies will attract students to serve under-resourced communities (Sun et al., 2024). ARHS recognized the gap in multiple funding streams and created several private partnership funding options beyond the government funding limitations (Fleming et al., 2020). These funding options allow organizations to form partnerships with local businesses to sustain funding in the future.

Slide 08

• Conclusion

The project focused on the strengths and weaknesses of the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System (ARHS) and the Healthcare System at large within the rural context. The concerns from the survey included the lack of access to specialty care, the retention and recruitment of employees, and the lack of funding. The recommendations revolve around increasing telehealth, continually mapping and preparing workforce development with local universities, and more diverse funding sources. These integrated recommendations focus on ARHS’s long-term needs, the delivery of services to the population, and improving the condition of the patient within the healthcare system and the healthcare facility.