Improving healthcare access in underserved communities is a crucial goal that requires a concerted effort from various stakeholders. Here are some key points on how healthcare access can be addressed in underserved communities:
1. Collaborating with Local Organizations and Public Health Departments: Clinicians can work with local school districts and public health departments to increase access to primary care and dental services for children and families in underserved communities .
2. Overcoming Barriers: The challenges faced by the healthcare industry in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the most daunting impediments to providing healthcare to underserved populations. Efforts to overcome these barriers include addressing social, economic, and cultural costs of health disparities .
3. Federal Programs and Policies: Many locales, such as small rural towns, sparsely populated areas, American Indian reservations, Alaska Native villages, and some sections of urban America, face shortages of healthcare providers and other barriers to accessing healthcare. Federal programs and policies aim to improve access to quality healthcare in these underserved areas .
4. Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Access to healthcare is not enough for patients who face problems accessing healthy foods or transportation to get to medical appointments. Addressing social determinants of health, such as food insecurity and transportation barriers, is crucial to improving healthcare access in underserved communities .
5. Community Health Clinics: Despite healthcare access challenges among underserved populations, patients, providers, and staff at community health clinics (CHCs) have developed practices to overcome limited access. These positive deviant practices translate into improved healthcare access for underserved communities .
6. Private Foundation Initiatives: Private foundations play a significant role in improving healthcare access in underserved communities. They work towards funding transportation services, improving the healthcare workforce, and addressing other factors that affect rural healthcare access. Private foundations also offer grants to develop and implement innovative healthcare delivery models and fund research to study policy implications related to rural healthcare access .
7. Graduate Medical Education: Enhancing care with graduate medical education is important in underserved areas, especially in fields like rheumatology where disparities exist in disease burden and outcomes. Medical education institutions have a responsibility to train students to serve vulnerable communities and improve healthcare access .
8. Integrated, Comprehensive Strategies: Integrated, comprehensive strategies that reform healthcare delivery and payment are needed to ensure access to quality healthcare in vulnerable communities. These strategies should allow individuals in underserved communities to make individual choices based on their needs, support structures, and preferences .
9. Addressing Geographic Challenges: Underserved communities in rural areas often face geographic challenges that limit access to healthcare. These challenges include a lack of community-based services, limited access to transportation, and a shortage of healthcare professionals and hospital facilities. Addressing these challenges is crucial to improving healthcare access in rural underserved communities .