Author

Corinne Bruce

Date of Award

Spring 2005

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Abstract

Over 75 percent of California's landmass is rural and that area is home to 3.8 million residents. Rural hospitals and clinics confront big obstacles like professional staff shortages, weak local economies, geographic isolation and loss of rural status with population increases. Telemedicine may provide a viable solution because telemedicine offers access to specialty health care providers in the form of consultation, diagnosis, and limited treatment options via the use of two-way video and audio connections. Rural healthcare systems are fragile and difficult to fund, so it is imperative that rural clinics and hospitals utilize the most efficient option in order to meet rural health care needs of those who reside in rural and medically underserved areas.

The purpose of this paper is not to evaluate telemedicine but rather to identify whether the Northern Sierra Health Network's Telemedicine Program can achieve independent financial viability.

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