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The U.S. healthcare system has long struggled with a divide between urban and rural communities. Rural areas often have fewer accessible hospitals, longer commuting times, and limited technology – all factors that contribute to lower care quality and poorer patient outcomes. However, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can help bridge these gaps – and this article explores how POCUS can improve healthcare delivery in rural settings
The gap between rural and urban healthcare has created major discrepancies in the use of imaging technology – tools that are vital for screening and diagnostics, as well as supporting ongoing care. There are two primary factors that drive this divide:
1. Limited access to routine imaging: Rural areas have significantly fewer medical imaging facilities per capita compared to urban areas. For example, only 22.2% of rural patients were within a 30-minute drive from a lung cancer screening center - compared to 83.2% of urban patients.1
2. High demand for imaging within rural communities: Non-metropolitan residents represent a disproportionately high 23% of the screening-eligible population despite accounting for only 15% of the U.S.2
These two factors combine to leave rural patients suffering from:
Efforts to expand access to rural locations have often focused on mobile imaging units – transportation vehicles like trucks or vans equipped with X-rays and CT scans. However, these tend to encounter significant problems, from the initial investment required to purchase vehicles to high ongoing staffing and training costs, as well as vehicle maintenance expenses.6
This is why a growing consensus has emerged that flexible, dynamic technology like POCUS is better suited to tackle care inequality and deliver vital screening to rural locations.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) enables physicians to conduct precise, precise medical imaging regardless of the patient’s location. The technology offers several key advantages for rural physicians:
This helps explain the growing excitement around the technology, with 80% of physicians stating that POCUS is essential for rural care.8 The only problem is many rural physicians still struggle to integrate POCUS devices. In fact, just 38.84% of rural counties have access to the technology, compared with nearly 90% of metropolitan counties.9
The relatively low adoption of POCUS within rural healthcare can be explained by two key factors:
But these are both addressable with the right partner – and that is why Vave Health exists. We produced the world’s first wireless, handheld, whole-body ultrasound with a single PZT transducer for rapid, reliable diagnostics. It makes POCUS simple, portable, and affordable for rural physicians, empowering you to:
This helps accelerate POCUS integration across numerous disciplines and expand access to high-quality imaging across rural communities.
Want to see it in action?
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The U.S. healthcare system has long struggled with a divide between urban and rural communities. Rural areas often have fewer accessible hospitals, longer commuting times, and limited technology – all factors that contribute to lower care quality and poorer patient outcomes. However, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can help bridge these gaps – and this article explores how POCUS can improve healthcare delivery in rural settings
The gap between rural and urban healthcare has created major discrepancies in the use of imaging technology – tools that are vital for screening and diagnostics, as well as supporting ongoing care. There are two primary factors that drive this divide:
1. Limited access to routine imaging: Rural areas have significantly fewer medical imaging facilities per capita compared to urban areas. For example, only 22.2% of rural patients were within a 30-minute drive from a lung cancer screening center - compared to 83.2% of urban patients.1
2. High demand for imaging within rural communities: Non-metropolitan residents represent a disproportionately high 23% of the screening-eligible population despite accounting for only 15% of the U.S.2
These two factors combine to leave rural patients suffering from:
Efforts to expand access to rural locations have often focused on mobile imaging units – transportation vehicles like trucks or vans equipped with X-rays and CT scans. However, these tend to encounter significant problems, from the initial investment required to purchase vehicles to high ongoing staffing and training costs, as well as vehicle maintenance expenses.6
This is why a growing consensus has emerged that flexible, dynamic technology like POCUS is better suited to tackle care inequality and deliver vital screening to rural locations.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) enables physicians to conduct precise, precise medical imaging regardless of the patient’s location. The technology offers several key advantages for rural physicians:
This helps explain the growing excitement around the technology, with 80% of physicians stating that POCUS is essential for rural care.8 The only problem is many rural physicians still struggle to integrate POCUS devices. In fact, just 38.84% of rural counties have access to the technology, compared with nearly 90% of metropolitan counties.9
The relatively low adoption of POCUS within rural healthcare can be explained by two key factors:
But these are both addressable with the right partner – and that is why Vave Health exists. We produced the world’s first wireless, handheld, whole-body ultrasound with a single PZT transducer for rapid, reliable diagnostics. It makes POCUS simple, portable, and affordable for rural physicians, empowering you to:
This helps accelerate POCUS integration across numerous disciplines and expand access to high-quality imaging across rural communities.
Want to see it in action?
With no hidden fees or other unwelcome surprises, Vave offers high-quality imaging at the best price.
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