Montana Witness Says Telehealth Services Help Address Workforce Shortages
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines at a Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee hearing discussed the importance of expanding telehealth services, especially for rural states like Montana.
Watch Daines’ opening remarks HERE.
“In rural states like Montana…telehealth has completely changed the game in terms of health care access. At our rural health care hearing earlier this year, I highlighted that two of the most challenging barriers to accessing care in rural states are distance and transportation, we might add weather at times with our Montana winters. With the ability to receive care virtually in the home, patients no longer have to travel multiple hours to see their providers, and the incorporation of audio-only telehealth has increased access in areas without sufficient broadband infrastructure. Telehealth also played a notable role in meeting the mental health needs of patients, arguably the mental health crisis we had during the pandemic, including in the Medicare population,” Daines said.
At the hearing, Daines asked Nicki Perisho, BSN, RN, of Whitefish, Montana, to share how telehealth services can help address severe workforce shortages that face many rural communities.
Watch the exchange HERE.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee, Daines has been a leading voice in the effort to expand telehealth services. See more of his work HERE.
###
Contact: Matt Lloyd, Rachel Dumke