The Journal of Rural Health Recognizes 2020 Article of the Year

The Journal of Rural Health (JRH), NRHA’s quarterly, scholarly publication, recognizes its 2020 Article of the Year, selected by the JRH Editorial Board from all articles published online last year.
 
The 2020 Article of the Year is “Utilization of Interactive Clinical Video Telemedicine by Rural and Urban Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration Health Care System” by Scott V. Adams, PhD; Michael J. Mader, MS; Mary J. Bollinger, PhD; Edwin S. Wong, PhD; Teresa J. Hudson, PhD; and Alyson J. Littman, PhD.

“Our rural research community serves a key role in the development of good public policy,” says NRHA CEO Alan Morgan. “NRHA is proud to select this vital and timely research as our Article of the Year.”

The study’s authors explore the gap in current knowledge around the demand for and potential uses of clinical video telemedicine (CVT) in large integrated health care systems. According to the authors, interactive CVT has the potential to benefit health care systems and patients by improving access, lowering costs, and more efficiently distributing providers.

“Both the editor and editorial board of the Journal of Rural Health see this article as addressing an important issue and offering practical and actionable recommendations for improving access to telemental health services,” says Carrie Henning-Smith, Editorial Board chair. “This article can make a positive difference in the effort to address widespread barriers to mental health care in rural areas. We applaud the authors for their work and are pleased to disseminate this work through the JRH.”

The study concludes that CVT utilization in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has increased quickly and exceeds published rates in the private health care market. The availability of CVT has likely increased access to VHA care for rural veterans, especially for mental health care.

View the full press release.