Telemedicine Offers Solutions for the Rural Disparities in Infectious Disease (ID) Care Delivery.

Abstract

In the United States, there is a growing shortage of infectious diseases (ID) physicians that highlights disparity between rural versus urban ID expertise resulting in a healthcare gap with significant consequences for patients unable to have ID directed care available to them. Telemedicine is a crucial modality of healthcare that can be used to bridge that gap by providing quality care consistent with outcomes for inpatient ID service models, while also serving as a tool for much greater geographic coverage by a single ID physician. As a specialty, we must embrace telemedicine for the good of our patients, whose local communities may not have access to ID care, and to create the incentive of broader community impact for potential entrants into the ID field.