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Difficulties in finding health care are an ongoing dilemma in Indiana’s rural areas. And shortages are beginning to surface in urban communities as well.

According to the Indiana Rural Health Association, there are around 10 doctors for every 10,000 people, while urban areas have 14 physicians per 10,000.

Incentives to attract doctors to needed neighborhoods may not be compatible with their lifestyle choices when starting their practice. And no community is immune to the scarcity of doctors, according to Surgeon and Health Technologist Dr. Sarah Matt.

“Health care access is now a problem for everybody, whether they are in a big city, whether they’re in the middle of the country, and whether they make a ton of money or not a lot of money at all,” said Matt. “Every economic group and every geography is having a hard time with access.”

Matt identified geography, financial, trust and knowledge factors as playing a role.

Rural residents generally don’t live near academic institutions to learn about advances in the health-care sector. And large business districts are widely nonexistent, which stifles economic growth.

She said a lack of trust exists from excessive disinformation that circulates, which leaves residents unsure of what to believe about the medical industry.

Another barrier to out-of-reach healthcare is a gap in high-speed internet service to rural towns. Telemedicine resources can allow for specialist appointments without having to drive long distances.

Matt said remote robotic surgery is at the forefront of innovation, but from a tech perspective, more questions should be answered before the option is used in the United States.

“The technology for remote robotic surgery is actually the easy part,” said Matt. “Everything around it is the hard part. So we still have to work through reimbursement models, safety models. How does the team work in one place versus the other? Where will there be surgeons? Where will there not? And these are the pieces around the entire program surrounding remote robotic surgery that has to be ironed out across the board.”

Matt said on a screen or phone call, a patient needs to trust their doctor, which may not be easy for some. The idea of a more global curriculum for digital empathy and digital communication may be something for further consideration from an educational perspective for health-care providers.