Using Telehealth as a Tool for Rural Hospitals in the COVID‐19 Pandemic Response

COVID‐19 pandemic crisis using technology that is effective, accepted, and has been implemented successfully in multiple venues. Innovations tested and adopted during this crisis also can advance systems of care in a post‐pandemic world. While prior implementations have focused on mental health, primary care, and asynchronous store‐and‐forward applications, telehealth can expand into the acute‐care hospital system. Rural hospitals can use telehealth systems to keep patients and avoid unnecessary transfers to tertiary care hospitals overwhelmed during this pandemic. Obstacles to telehealth implementation (eg, limited reimbursement, HIPPA compliance, and interstate licensing restrictions) have been temporarily loosened.1 Telehealth can evaluate large numbers of infectious patients while minimizing exposure to uninfected patients and health care personnel. Many systems are already using telehealth to promote social distancing, screen patients with respiratory symptoms, and offer telehealth to high‐risk populations to limit contact with the health care system. Over the last 3 years, we have developed and implemented 3 unique telehospitalist programs. Two link tertiary care centers with rural hospitals experiencing staffing shortages,2, 3 and a third provides hospital‐to‐home telehealth for patients recently discharged.4 We have worked with rural health care systems to meet their needs. Our objective is to share our experiences and promote rapid adoption of telehealth partnerships between rural and tertiary hospitals. We discuss strategies for telehealth deployment, including applications, expanding rural health care capacity through facilitating containment, and promoting telework models that protect health care workers and patients.