A new study shows that rural Medicare patients are much less likely to receive follow-up care. They’re also more likely to end up in the emergency room, reports The Rural Blog. The study appeared in the September issue of the journal Medical Care. Researchers looked at the number of patients who had follow-up health care visits and emergency room visits within 30 days of hospitalization. They found that rural patients were almost 20 percent less likely to receive follow-up care. The risk of an emergency room visit is over 50% higher for rural patients.
The report provided no reasons for its findings. But other studies suggest transportation problems are a major contributor. The study was conducted by RTI International and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
