Bridging the gap: better healthcare for rural America
- By Philips
- November 25 2025
- 3 min read
For decades, the medical community has grappled with a persistent challenge: how to deliver a high standard of care to patients in rural or underserved communities. The simple fact of distance can limit how quickly care is administered, an issue compounded by a lack of reliable transportation for many patients. This isn't a new problem, but other concerning factors are making it worse. Hospital closures in rural areas are a prime example. When a hospital closes, vital services like maternity wards often disappear with it, compromising the quality of lifelong care for both mother and child.
At-a-glance:
- Rural healthcare faces growing challenges from hospital closures, long travel distances and financial pressures on providers.
- Philips is expanding access with mobile CT lung screenings, virtual care and remote monitoring, bringing vital services directly to communities.
- Emphasis on training, privacy and partnerships aims to build a sustainable, tech-enabled future for rural healthcare.
Mike Lemnitzer, Vice President of State Government Healthcare at Philips, is intimately familiar with these scenarios. He sees firsthand the unique challenges facing rural healthcare providers and the financial tightrope they walk just to keep their doors open. “When you take those [health system] rates that are negotiated at a discount and apply those to the rural communities that already have a low volume of patients, you have a double-edged sword,” Mike explains. “Now [the facilities] are penalized with low rates and low volume.”
Bringing affordable care to the community
In response to these difficult circumstances, Mike and his team at Philips are working with health systems to pioneer new ways to bring quality care to rural areas using innovative technology. A standout example is the mobile CT lung screening program in places like New York State with local healthcare and community partners, aimed at reducing lung cancer fatalities through early detection.
Considering that upwards of 36% of New York State residents must travel more than an hour to access a CT scanner, this mobile solution is a game changer. It brings vital screenings out of hospitals and directly into the neighborhoods where patients live.
Mike is passionate about expanding this life-saving service across the country. “I want a mobile CT in every state within the next four years… and we’re adding six [more] this year,” he says. He and his team are working diligently with state governments to make mobile CT scans a common and accessible part of the healthcare landscape nationwide.
The power of digital and remote technology
Effective virtual care is another cornerstone of the plan to expand healthcare access. Philips has successfully launched key programs in several states that use remote, virtual or mobile technology to provide patients with advanced care.
- Electronic Intensive Care Unit (eICU): This solution remotely monitors thousands of ICU beds across the country. It allows physician teams to cover multiple hospitals at once, improving care continuity and avoiding costly patient transfers.
- Remote patient monitoring: In Georgia, the Philips remote monitoring packages empower expectant mothers to measure their own blood pressure and other vital signs. The data is sent to health coaches who can monitor risks and intervene when necessary to help reduce complications.
- Pregnancy+ App: Launched in Michigan in 2022, this app now serves 1.5 million users nationwide. It educates pregnant women and connects them to essential state resources. As Mike puts it, “the phone is [the patient’s] resource… for these pregnant [patients], we’re actually educating them on what they need to be doing and where they can get resources that are provided by their state.”
Training for success, designing for privacy
Introducing new remote care technologies often involves a learning curve for providers, technicians and patients. Philips understands that proper training is critical to ensure that the best level of care is administered and received. The company has implemented extensive training programs so that everyone understands their role in the process.
For instance, an affiliated maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialist in New Mexico is trained to perform nearly half of all maternal scans in the state, with a third of their patients being remote. The physician receives rigorous initial and ongoing training from Philips to maximize the benefits of the technology and guide the patient through the process smoothly. Patients using remote tools also receive support, with access to nurses and coaches who make sure they’re correctly using monitoring devices.
With so much data being shared between devices and providers, patient privacy is paramount. Mike is proud of how Philips designs its systems with this core principle in mind. “Our products are designed for ‘privacy first.’ The patient’s safety and privacy are always built-in,” he states. “It’s in our blood [at Philips] to be sure that we have that covered.”
A vision for the future
Mike and the team at Philips are constantly exploring new ways to improve care for patients in rural areas, using advanced technology to close the proximity gap.
He envisions a connected ecosystem where states and universities collaborate with providers to integrate virtual and mobile care options with local hospitals. This includes training physicians in rural communities to provide exceptional in-person care. Mike also hopes health systems will move toward greater pay parity, which could help save the approximately 700 rural hospitals nationwide at risk of closing due to financial struggles.
Ultimately, Mike is optimistic. He believes that by building on the progress already made in rural communities, the future of high-quality, accessible rural healthcare can be achieved through strong partnerships and advanced technology.
“One of our missions at Philips is to develop technology for rural communities that is virtual in nature and delivers for the community, the provider and the family,” he says. “We see the impact of what's going on, and we must understand what rural healthcare will look like in 10 years. We spend time with the people that live and deliver care in these communities, asking them for ideas. And we can effectively demonstrate some of their ideas with proven solutions.”
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Disclaimer
The opinions and clinical experiences presented herein are specific to the featured topics and are not linked to any specific patient and are for information purposes only. The medical experience(s) derived from these topics may not be predictive of all patients. Individual results may vary depending on a variety of patient-specific attributes and related factors. Nothing in this article is intended to provide specific medical advice or to take the place of written law or regulations.