The One Huge Lovely Invoice Act’s new $50 billion rural hospital fund is a constructive step towards advancing rural well being infrastructure — however short-term injections of money gained’t repair deeply rooted systemic challenges, one skilled identified.
“Cash will not be the one reply,” mentioned Jason Griffin, managing director at consulting agency Nordic International.
Throughout his time at Nordic, Griffin has labored alongside organizations like Microsoft and CHIME to assist modernize rural hospitals’ IT infrastructure and increase the usage of digital well being instruments amid ongoing workforce and reimbursement challenges.
He is aware of that rural suppliers’ stability is deeply threatened by looming Medicaid cuts. Whereas last-minute funding was added as a stopgap, Griffin famous it should solely cowl about 37% of those suppliers’ potential losses over the subsequent 5 years.
Sooner or later, he mentioned he wish to see federal and state governments spend money on infrastructure — reminiscent of dependable broadband connectivity and steady EHR techniques — as an alternative of leaving rural hospitals to shoulder prices.
Higher infrastructure would allow sustainable telehealth and value-based care, Griffin added.
Federal and state funding also needs to assist healthcare workforce growth in rural communities, together with partnerships with universities and medical coaching packages, he said.
“All of that basically can be wanted to assist long-term sustainability with that money injection. I imply, we will spend some huge cash, after which 5 years from now, be in the identical boat,” Griffin remarked.
Cybersecurity is one space the place rural hospitals’ staffing challenges are particularly acute, he famous — stating that these suppliers usually have solely 4 or 5 folks of their IT departments
Most rural suppliers battle to handle third-party danger, which is now a number one reason behind healthcare knowledge breaches, Griffin mentioned.
“Prolonged downtime, even over every week, can shut your group down completely. And we’ve seen these breaches trigger as much as 5 or 6 weeks of downtime — and it simply can’t be sustained,” he declared.
Rural hospitals should consistently select between investing in medical gear or cybersecurity — which is a burden city hospitals don’t face, Griffin added.
He additionally famous that there aren’t any necessities for state-by-state reporting or for measuring outcomes tied to the funding. He careworn the necessity for metrics — reminiscent of emergency division wait occasions and maternal well being outcomes — to trace whether or not this funding improves look after rural communities.
In Griffin’s view, a one-time money injection dangers being wasted with out clear funding methods. He believes investments ought to go towards infrastructure enhancements, workforce growth and shared companies.
