EXCERPT:“Residents of rural areas are more likely to be hospitalized and to die than those who live in cities primarily because they lack access to specialists, recent research has found. The study, led by Dr. Kenton Johnston, assistant professor of health management and policy at Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice, looked at data from Medicare patients who have chronic health problems. The paper was published in the December 2019 issue of Health Affairs. It found that Medicare recipients with chronic conditions such as heart failure or diabetes who live in rural locations have higher death and hospitalization rates than those living in more urban settings. Lack of access to specialists, such as cardiologists and endocrinologists, was the primary reason.” FULL STORY: http://bit.ly/363jSJ5
