News and Analysis

The increasing use of virtual care is having a significant impact on rural communities, delivering useful services to people who are often geographically remote from their nearest healthcare facility. For health systems working mainly with rural populations, such as South Dakota’s Sanford Health, telemedicine isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a necessity. The health system, which operates 56 hospitals and 270 clinics over a number of states, also uses telemedicine to help tackle mental health issues.