Rural hospitals: Keys to addressing top challenges with healthcare delivery

Rural hospitals face unique challenges compared to other, larger facilities. The American Hospital Association (AHA) is advocating for policy changes designed to make life easier for rural hospitals, but in the meantime, these facilities may have to get creative to successfully navigate the current healthcare landscape.

In its 2019 Rural Report, the AHA identified some of the top challenges rural hospitals must tackle going forward, breaking them down into three big categories:

Emerging. Several problems are just beginning to impact the care rural hospitals provide patients. One of the most pressing issues is the caring for patients affected by the opioid epidemic, which has hit rural communities hard. Violence in the community is also a significant threat, whether in the form of a mass shooting, human trafficking or an attack on a hospital staffer. Rural hospitals must also be on the lookout for internal issues, such as weaknesses in their cybersecurity or the ability to handle a sudden surge in patients due to a natural disaster, terrorist attack or another large-scale emergency.