Patients in rural parts of the United States often face specific and numerous barriers to care, including financial hurdles, logistical concerns and trust in the healthcare system.

As the founder of Caravan Health and Chief Innovation Officer at Signify Health, Lynn Barr is deeply involved in rural health policy. She joins Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich to discuss her journey of working with health systems, what role population health programs and value-based payment can play in inequities, and what policy changes are necessary for safety-net providers.

Talking points:

-60 million people live in rural America
-What data measurement can reveal about quality 
-The divide in life expectancy between rural and urban Americans
-Population health programs and value-based payment addressing inequities
-The HITECH Act's effect on independent physicians
-Small numbers don't work for judging cost
-Leading indicators of success for population health
-Why regional benchmarks may not be useful for safety-net providers

More about this episode:

Rural hospitals face growing sustainability threats on multiple fronts, AHA says

Rural hospitals need more than telehealth to survive the pandemic

CMS announces a new value-based payment model for rural healthcare providers

HHS puts $48M toward rural public health IT, workforce expansion