Are Rural Hospitals More Prone to Medical Errors?

Because of recent Medicaid cuts, many of Kentucky’s rural hospitals are at risk of closure.

Financial instability is just one of the unique challenges these institutions face. Other issues include the following:

Provider Shortages

In general, rural hospitals have a shortage of primary care physicians, specialists, and mental health professionals. When there isn’t a recommended specialist, the patient may be transferred, increasing the risk of complications.

Geographical and Transportation Barriers

When it takes a patient a longer time to arrive at a hospital in an emergency, it can worsen their condition and force the hospital emergency staff into a more of a scramble to provide care. That rush to care can lead to errors.

High Chronic Disease Burden

Rural Kentucky residents experience some of the highest chronic disease rates in the country. Consider these findings by the Appalachian Regional Commission with regard to Appalachian Kentucky’s residents:

• Heart disease mortality rate is 45% higher than the national average.
• Cancer mortality rate is 35% higher than the national average and 18% higher than in non-Appalachian Kentucky.
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) mortality rate is 88% higher than the national average.
• Injury mortality rate is 103% higher than the national average and 60% higher than in non-Appalachian Kentucky.

Stigma and Privacy

In tight-knit rural communities, residents often avoid seeking care for mental health or substance abuse issues due to the stigma attached to those conditions. As a result, their problems worsen.

When investigating a medical malpractice claim, everything needs to be examined.

You need to separate what is considered standard operating procedures from negligence.

Here are the common contributing factors that might be part of your claim:

• Staffing Shortages and Fatigue: Rural hospitals often operate with fewer staff members. That leads to longer shifts, which in turn creates fatigue among the staff. When exhaustion sets in, the likelihood of human error increases.
• Limited Resources and Training: With smaller operating budgets, rural hospitals often have limited access to specialized staff training and advanced technology to carry out comprehensive safety procedures.
• Communication Breakdowns: When there are smaller teams of attending physicians and nurses, there may be a tendency toward more informal processes, which can create gaps in communication. This is especially relevant during patient handoffs, where a lack of professional communication is a major factor in patient care errors.
• Triage and Transfer Issues: Rural hospitals frequently rely on transferring patients to larger facilities. Whenever you need to transport a critical patient, there is a higher risk of communication mistakes and procedural mistakes that lead to health complications.

Evaluating a medical malpractice claim involving a rural hospital requires a fact-based approach that accounts for limited resources and the legal obligation of those facilities to provide competent care.

The legal team at McCoy & Hiestand, PLC, has decades of combined experience investigating medical malpractice claims involving rural and urban hospitals. Our review begins with a comprehensive analysis of your medical records, treatment timeline, and the specific circumstances surrounding your care. The goal is to clearly establish without a doubt that your healthcare provider’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care.

If we are confident that negligence occurred, we’ll call on an independent medical practitioner to issue a Certificate of Merit. This document affirms that there is reasonable cause for a malpractice claim. It is also a mandatory document for filing.

We have a deep understanding of the “resource versus responsibility” dynamic in rural healthcare. Even though a smaller hospital might face staffing shortages or limited technology, that is not an excuse for substandard care.

If you believe you or a loved one experienced medical negligence in a rural Kentucky hospital, McCoy & Hiestand, PLC wants to hear what happened.

Contact the firm today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll provide you with a clear assessment of your potential claim and guidance about the next steps.