Technology 2025: Upholding Healthcare Availability with Increasing Technical Demands
Tons of individuals across the USA face problems with regular access to essential healthcare services, and a staggering 100 million people are in this predicament, as per a report from the National Association of Community Health Centers. This shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas is one major hurdle.
During the 2025 ViVE conference in Nashville, Tennessee, leaders from rural health systems and community health centers engaged in discussions about the difficulties they encounter in providing care to underserved communities, and why merely deploying new technologies may not be the best solution for their particular situations.
Johanna Liu, president and CEO at San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, voiced her concern: "How do we keep community health centers from being left behind? Some of my clinics have just one IT person supporting them."
Clearly, social determinants of health must be addressed in order to improve healthcare access. This necessitates a deeper understanding of these communities. Developing survey questions that benefit patient care rather than just data collection is essential.
Brian Haile, president and CEO at Nashville-based Neighborhood Health, shared how they approached asking questions about food insecurity with practical offerings to the patient: Does a patient want to take home a box of food? Alternatively, do they need help obtaining food stamps?
"What we really concentrate on is what we can achieve and help patients with," Haile explained.
Artificial intelligence (AI) was a prevalent topic during the conference, with community health centers showing keen interest in promising AI capabilities, such as features that could free up administrative time for healthcare providers. Multilingual AI capabilities are also in demand.
Even though providers may not be utilizing AI solutions currently, many patients already are, Haile pointed out. An intriguing anecdote involving an AI translation app was shared, highlighting the importance of understanding how patients are implementing AI and building upon this existing trust.
Ultimately, solutions that aim to improve care access should involve provider organizations from a grassroots level, according to Liu. Community health centers and similar providers have the expertise to "do more with less," but they shouldn't have to consistently do so.
Solutions to address care access in rural communities should stem from those communities themselves, echoed Rachelle Schultz, president and CEO at Minnesota-based Winona Health.
"We are people-first, high-touch first. We have to be careful that we're not complicating truly valued relationships between people and their doctors, nurses, therapists, and so forth, and making it too techy because, at the core, it is the connection between people," Schultz said.
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Minnesota-based Winona Health is one example of an early adopter of electronic health records, but ongoing workforce concerns persist, especially in the pharmacy sector.
Because of these issues, Winona Health established a simulation lab that enables clinicians to reinforce their education and training.
Telehealth has made inroads despite challenges with connectivity and found a role as a provider career extender and talent magnet. Rural communities experience undersupply of subspecialty care, and telehealth offers a way for specialists to maintain their practices at their convenience.
"They can work one or two days a week virtually, and they can continue seeing their patients that way," said Dave Newman, chief medical officer of virtual care at South Dakota-based Sanford Health. "We're getting providers who want to extend their careers through virtual care."
For rural communities, telehealth improves access to subspecialty care and helps maintain the services of experienced physicians.
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- The shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas is a significant barrier to essential healthcare services for millions of Americans.
- During the 2025 ViVE conference, leaders discussed the challenges in providing care to underserved communities and questioned if technology alone was the solution.
- Johanna Liu, from San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, expressed concern about the lack of IT support in community health centers.
- Addressing social determinants of health is crucial to improving healthcare access, which requires a deeper understanding of these communities.
- Brian Haile, president of Neighborhood Health, emphasized the importance of asking practical questions about food insecurity that benefit patient care.
- AI was a hot topic at the conference, with community health centers interested in its potential to free up administrative time for healthcare providers.
- Many patients are already utilizing AI, and it's essential to understand how they are implementing AI to build upon existing trust.
- Solutions for improving care access should involve grassroots-level provider organizations to leverage their expertise.
- Rachelle Schultz, president of Winona Health, reiterated the importance of maintaining the relationship between people and their healthcare providers without overcomplicating it with technology.
- Winona Health is an example of an early adopter of electronic health records, but they still face workforce concerns, particularly in the pharmacy sector.
- To reinforce education and training, Winona Health established a simulation lab for their clinicians.
- Telehealth has made progress despite connectivity issues and has found a role as a provider career extender and talent magnet.
- Rural communities struggle with an undersupply of subspecialty care, and telehealth offers a solution for specialists to maintain their practices remotely.
- Telehealth improves rural communities' access to subspecialty care and helps maintain the services of experienced physicians.
- To learn more about rural healthcare resilience, visit the provided link and follow HealthTechMagazine on X for further discussion using #VIVE2025.
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