Expert Opinion: Potential Barriers of PPG Sensor Booth for Combatting U.S. Rural Healthcare Gap

Abstract

Rural areas lack sufficient access to healthcare. Previous studies have shown that this issue, known as the rural healthcare gap, is a result of the following factors: physician shortages in rural areas, traditional healthcare facilities being far away from rural communities, and a lack of patient affordability of health screenings. This qualitative survey study aimed to explore the barriers to a solution to the rural healthcare gap combining two existing technologies: PPG sensors and telehealth booths. Twelve professionals from rural health, telehealth, and PPG sensor backgrounds were recruited to answer a questionnaire inquiring about the different social, economic, and political barriers that potentially exist to this solution. Analysis identified 8 major barriers: 1) Fear of Confidentiality Breach, 2) Wariness of technology, 3) Implementation cost, 4) Maintenance Cost, 5) Funding, 6) Insurance Access, 7) Partisanship, and 8) Pressure from Healthcare Organizations. Rural health, telehealth, and PPG sensor professionals were more likely to state the wariness of technology, implementation cost, maintenance cost, funding, and healthcare organization pressure as the major barriers to the implementation of the PPG sensor booth. Understanding these barriers will not only inform future direction to mitigate hurdles to the PPG Sensor booth, but also other novel technologies that are applied in the rural setting as well.