3 ms·

If you live an hour from an emergency room, all kinds of urgent things will become more fatal statistically and lower life expectancy. Stroke, heart attack, tr

If you live an hour from an emergency room, all kinds of urgent things will become more fatal statistically and lower life expectancy. Stroke, heart attack, trauma. EMS pays careful attention to the "golden hour" of receiving definitive care being a survival factor. If you have to wait longer for transport (because you're rural) and then wait longer to arrive at the ER, then your hour may be up before you're even seen. One mitigating factor is rural EMS sometimes has more advanced care options (allowed by their medical director) than urban BLS because they know it's a long ride.

delfinom 3y ago
Lol, the joke here is depending on rural areas. You may wait a few hours just for an ambulance to show up in the first place.
giantg2 3y ago
A huge factor in my personal experience is the quality of care at the hospital. Many hospitals in more remote locations have poor care. Sometimes it's that doctors who can't get the higher paying jobs at the big hospitals go there, and the facilities have lower budgets for many things. I've had family in the medical field who have worked all over the world and have stated that a few specific hospitals serving rural areas are only slightly better than some of the 3rd world hospitals they've seen. They might be bigger or fancier, but the quality of care is poor and the rate of mistakes are high.
- dexwiz 3y ago
  Many times these hospitals also lack specialists. Some of my relatives will drive an extra hour to a bigger city, even though they live 10minutes from a hospital, because the doctors there don’t have the same specialities.
- supertrope 3y ago
  Ironically physicians earn slightly more in rural areas. Cash is used to balance out the disadvantages of moving to the middle of nowhere. https://resources.nejmcareercenter.org/article/demystifying-urban-versus-rural-physician-compensation/ https://resources.nejmcareercenter.org/article/demystifying-...
  - giantg2 3y ago
    I shouldn't have said higher paying. I should have said more sought after. The rural hospitals are paying more to attract people (where they're able to). They're more willing to lower their standards to fill positions. But they're also less likely to have some of the higher paying specialties that you'll find in the bigger cities.

delfinom 3y ago

Lol, the joke here is depending on rural areas. You may wait a few hours just for an ambulance to show up in the first place.

giantg2 3y ago

A huge factor in my personal experience is the quality of care at the hospital. Many hospitals in more remote locations have poor care. Sometimes it's that doctors who can't get the higher paying jobs at the big hospitals go there, and the facilities have lower budgets for many things. I've had family in the medical field who have worked all over the world and have stated that a few specific hospitals serving rural areas are only slightly better than some of the 3rd world hospitals they've seen. They might be bigger or fancier, but the quality of care is poor and the rate of mistakes are high.

dexwiz 3y ago
Many times these hospitals also lack specialists. Some of my relatives will drive an extra hour to a bigger city, even though they live 10minutes from a hospital, because the doctors there don’t have the same specialities.
supertrope 3y ago
Ironically physicians earn slightly more in rural areas. Cash is used to balance out the disadvantages of moving to the middle of nowhere. https://resources.nejmcareercenter.org/article/demystifying-urban-versus-rural-physician-compensation/ https://resources.nejmcareercenter.org/article/demystifying-...
- giantg2 3y ago
  I shouldn't have said higher paying. I should have said more sought after. The rural hospitals are paying more to attract people (where they're able to). They're more willing to lower their standards to fill positions. But they're also less likely to have some of the higher paying specialties that you'll find in the bigger cities.